Posted: Jan 24, 2014

Seahawks soar to third-straight victory

Freshman goalie Colleen Marcik stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced to help Salve Regina to its third-straight win.

GORHAM, Maine -- Rookie goalie Colleen Marcik (Madison, Conn.) stopped 29 of 30 shots to backstop the visiting Salve Regina University Seahawks to a 3-1 victory of the University of Southern Maine Huskies in an ECAC Women's East game Friday at the USM Ice Arena.

The win was the third straight for the surging Seahawks, and extended their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1). The Seahawks improved to 10-5-3 overall and 5-4-0 in the ECAC play. The Huskies dropped their second straight game to slip to 9-8-1 overall and 6-3-0 in league play.

Marcik stopped all 13 shots she faced in the opening period as the Huskies tried to overcome an early 1-0 deficit. The first-year goaltender stopped 10 more shots in the second period before USM senior Erin Banfield (Montpelier, Vt.) beat her over the shoulder for a power-play goal late in the period that cut the Seahawks' advantage to 3-1. Marcik was not challenged in the final period stopping six shots.

The Seahawks grabbed a 1-0 lead just 1:56 into the game as the Huskies turned the puck over behind their own net. Rookie Kayla Smith (Woburn, Mass.) pounced on the turnover, but was denied on a wrap-around attempt by USM junior Liz Bergstrom (Chanhassen, Minn.). The rebound went right out in front to sophomore Molly O'Sullivan (Duxbury, Mass.) who buried the shot for her second goal of the season.

Senior Monika Borkowski (Ann Arbor, Mich.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 13:56 of the middle period when her shot found from a sharp angle found its way by Bergstrom to just cross over the goal line. The goal was the first of Borkowski's collegiate career.

Sophomore Danielle Phalon (Stoneham, Mass.) made it 3-0 at 16:10 when she redirected a shot from freshman Michelle Holmes (Goffstown, N.H.) past Bergstrom. The goal was the 10th of the season for Phalon.

Banfield got USM on the board at 18:17 after getting the puck from junior Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) in the right-wing corner. Banfield skated in along the goal line extended and lifted a backhand shot over Marcik's shoulder for her team-leading 12th goal of the season. The Huskies nearly scored another goal before the end of the period, but senior Shannon Cronin's (Wakefield, Mass.) shot hit the post to the right of Marcik and ricocheted across the goalmouth.

Southern Maine finished the game with a 30-29 edge in shots on goal, and converted its only power-play opportunity. USM killed off both SRU power plays.

The Huskies will look to rebound on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) when they host the College of the Holy Cross. Salve Regina will head north to play at Plymouth State University on Saturday (2:00 p.m.).