ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine women's hockey team emerged victorious over Providence College in an overtime finish on Sunday, 3-2. The win improves Maine's record to 13-8-6 on the season and 7-6-2 in Hockey East play while Providence's record falls to 9-15-3 overall and 6-7-1 in conference action. Brianne Kilgour (Hamilton, Ontario), Brittany Dougherty (Chesterfield, Mich.) and Danielle Ward (Lansing, Mich.) each tallied goals for the Black Bears.
The game also marked the 6th Annual Skating Strides Against Breast Cancer game, held by Hockey East. Mary Dempsey from the Patrick Dempsey Cancer Center for Hope and Healing dropped the puck during a ceremonial puck drop. The Black Bears also donned commemorative game jerseys that were auctioned off after the game. At the duration of the game, the team sat down for an autograph session in which everyone got a team photo and had it signed by all of the members of the squad.
Providence scored the first goal of the game exactly five minutes into the first period when Nicole Anderson found the back of the net. Corinne Buie and Victoria Virtue assisted Anderson on the play to help the Friars to a 1-0 lead. Providence almost scored again during a two on one situation; however goalie Brittany Ott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) came up big on the play and denied the shot. Maine had the edge on shots at the end of the first period by a total of 10-9.
Brianne Kilgour struck for the Black Bears at 2:34 in the second period to tie the game, 1-1. The play originated when Tori Pasquariello (Mississauga, Ontario) carried the puck up the left side and found Kilgour in front of the net. Kilgour then beat Friar goalie Genevieve Lacasse for her fourth goal of the season. Late in the second period with just over a minute remaining, Brittany Dougherty picked up her team leading 13th goal of the season, giving Maine a 2-1 advantage. Danielle Ward earned her 12th assist of the season on the play. At the end of two periods of play, Maine held a 2-1 lead.
Providence's Corrine Buie tied the game at 2-2 when she found the back of the net at 6:21 in the third. Abby Gauthier and Laura Veharanta found Buie on the play, each earning assists. Maine nearly picked up their third goal of the game on chances near the end, however Lacasse helped keep the score tied for Providence. Though the third period was packed with opportunities from both teams, the score would remain tied at 2-2 and head into overtime.
At 2:19 of the overtime period, Danielle Ward took the first shot of the period and scored the game winning goal for the Black Bears, beating Providence's Lacasse high above her glove, giving the Black Bears their 13th victory of the season. The goal was Ward's 12th of the year while Brittany Dougherty picked up her 14th assist of the year on the play.
Brittany Ott picked up her ninth win of the season after making 26 saves on the 28 shots she faced, giving her a record of 9-7-3. Despite making 38 saves on 41 shots, Genevieve Lacasse took the loss for the Friars, giving her an overall record of 6-14-1. Maine was 0-for-6 on the power play while Providence was 0-for-2 on power play opportunities.
The Black Bears do not play again until Saturday, February 4 when they host Vermont for a two game series. Saturday's game has a start time of 2 p.m. while Sunday's game will start at 3 p.m.