PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Senior Ashley Cottrell (Sterling Heights, Mich.) tallied a short-handed goal midway through the third period to lead the Providence College women's ice hockey team past Robert Morris, 3-1, Saturday at Schneider Arena.
With the game knotted, 1-1, Cottrell broke out of her own zone and attacked the Colonial net. The senior brought the puck to her backhand and slipped it home for her 10th of the season and a 2-1, Friar advantage.
Cottrell now has at least one point in the last six games and in ten of her last 11.
Classmate Kate Bacon (Chanhassen, Minn.) added an empty-net strike with 28 seconds remaining in regulation to round out the scoring at 3-1. It was her seventh goal of the year.
It was the Friars who took the initial lead in the first period. At 10:11, with a Robert Morris penalty expiring, senior Laura Veharanta (La Verne, Calif.) one-timed a Cottrell feed from the right circle for her seventh of the year.
The Colonials responded in the opening minute of the middle period. At the 48 second mark, Junior Kelsey Thomas skated in on a 2-on-1 break, kept the puck and lifted it home, top-shelf for the 1-1 tie.
Providence goaltender Nina Riley (Lexington, Mass.) earned the victory in net, halting 24 shots. Colonial Kristen DiCiocco stopped 23.
Next for the Friars, Providence will play the second, outdoor game in program history. On Tuesday January 10, the team will face-off with Dartmouth at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. The game will start at 3 p.m. and tickets are available by phone at 877-REDSOX9 and online at redsox.com/frozenfenway .