DURHAM, N.H. - Sophomore Hannah Armstrong (Newmarket, Ontario) tallied three points on the night in New Hampshire's 4-2 win over the fifth-ranked Boston University Friday night at the Whittemore Center. The win improves the Wildcats to 4-7-0 overall and 2-2-0 in Hockey East play while the Terriers fall to 7-3-1 and 3-2-1 in conference action.
Freshman Alexis Crossley (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) got the Wildcats on the board in the first period with her team-leading fifth goal of the season when she ripped a one timer from just outside the faceoff circle. Megan Armstrong (Edina, Minn.) started the play when she dished the puck to Hannah Armstrong behind the net. Hannah Armstrong then found Crossley out in front to tally the assist.
New Hampshire netminder Jenn Gilligan (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) made 11 saves on each shot she faced in the period to contain the 1-0 lead.
Arielle O'Neill (St. Catherine, Ontario) increased the Wildcat lead to 2-0 just 1:08 into the second period when she received a pass and one-timed it past Terrier goalie Alissa Fromkin from point-blank range, tallying her first of the season. Kristina Lavoie (Fonthill, Ontario) and Megan Armstrong tallied assists on the play. Just 10 seconds later, Jessica Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario) tallied her third goal of the season and New Hampshire's third of the game after she blasted a shot past Fromkin for the goal. Nicole Gifford (Ennismore, Ontario) received the puck from Hannah Armstrong and passed to Hitchcock on the play.
Boston University cut its deficit to two goals at the 9:20 mark when Kaleigh Fratkin tallied her first goal of the season when she found the rebound of Jenel Kohanchuk's initial shot and slapped it in. Gilligan made a stellar save on the initial shot but was unable to grasp the rebound. Kayla Tutino also notched an assist on the play. Louise Warren brought the Terriers to within one goal at 13:17 of the second when she received a centering feed from Isabel Menard from behind the net. Shannon Stoneburgh started the play after leading Menard up the ice with a pass. Through two periods of play, the Wildcats still contained the lead, 3-2.
Gilligan came up huge in the third period when Fratkin stole the puck and came speeding down the ice on a breakaway. The Terrier attempted a shot on Gilligan's blocker side, but the netminder defended the shot and covered up the rebound to deny a second chance. Hannah Armstrong gave the Wildcats a two-goal cushion with 16 seconds remaining on an empty net goal, tallying her third of the season. Crossley slung the puck off the boards and Armstrong skated onto it to bring it down the ice. After three periods of play, the Wildcats emerged victorious, 4-2.
Gilligan received the win in her first game of the season after making 24 saves on the 26 shots she faced. Fromkin received the loss for the Terriers after allowing three goals on 22 shots faced. Her record stands at 1-1-0. New Hampshire was 1-for-3 on the power play while BU was 0-for-4.
The Wildcats return to the ice Sunday, November 11 when they travel to Providence to take on the Friars in a Hockey East contest. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.