St. Cloud, MINN. - In the final game of the 2010 Easton Holiday Showcase held at St. Cloud State, the Providence College (6-7-8, 4-3-4-2 WHEA) women's hockey team defeated Minnesota State (4-10-4, 2-8-4-2 WCHA) 2-0. Genevieve Lacasse (Scarborough, Ontario) made 31 saves to record her second shutout of the season and Alyse Ruff (Tualatin, Ore.) notched two goals to lead Providence. With the victory, the Friars are now undefeated in their last four games with two wins and two ties.
Celebrating her 21st birthday, junior Alyse Ruff put home both goals, notching a second period power-play goal and adding an insurance tally midway through the final period. For her efforts, she was named the No. 1 star of the game. On the weekend, Ruff recorded three goals and an assist.
The Mavericks opened the game with five unanswered shots including a breakaway that Lacasse snuffed out with the left pad at the 5:20 mark. PC's Jessica Vella (Pickering, Ontario) responded with a chance of her own in the slot at 8:08 that was saved by MSU goaltender Alli Altmann. Neither team was able to open the scoring in the first with Minnesota State holding an 11-10 edge in shots.
Providence scored the opener at 2:06 of the second with a power-play goal from junior Alyse Ruff (Tualatin, Ore.). PC controlled the puck in the MSU zone as Jean O'Neill (Strafford, Pa.) and Jessica Cohen (Anchorage, Alaska) exchanged passes behind the net. O'Neill then found Ruff at the top of the crease who slapped the puck by Altmann for her sixth goal of the season.
Lacasse came up with two big saves to close out the period on MSU forward Christina Lee. At 16:50, Lee's attempt from the left side of the net was smothered before a point-blank shot from the top of the crease was denied by the outstretched right pad of Lacasse.
The two teams went into the locker room with PC ahead, 1-0, and the Mavericks ahead in shots, 21-17.
Providence nearly doubled the lead 2:01 into third but a Jean O'Neill backhand rang off the right post and score remained, 1-0, with the Friars in front.
Lacasse was forced to make another big save on Lee at 6:58 when the MSU forward found space at the top of the crease and sent a wrist shot to the right side. Lacasse quickly flashed the glove to make the save.
Ruff notched her second of the game at 9:55 when she put home a rebound after an Arianna Rigano (Malden, Mass.) shot from the slot. Leigh Riley (Lexington, Mass.) started the play with a shot from the left point. The goal was Ruff's seventh goal of the season while Rigano and Riley registered their fourth and first assists of the season, respectively.
Minnesota State pulled their goalie with 1:20 remaining but the Friar defense held strong to maintain the shutout. The two teams finished the game with 31 shots each.
The Friars will return to Providence for a pair of home games against No. 8/9 Cornell beginning on Saturday, January 9 at 2:00 p.m. Game two will be played on Sunday, January 10 at 2:00 p.m. with both games being held in Schneider Arena. For ticket information, visit Friars.com or call 401-865-GoPC.