PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College (4-6-5, 3-3-3-2) women's hockey team opened up a three-goal lead in the first period but couldn't hold on in the end as No. 9 Northeastern (8-2-2, 5-1-2-1) came away with a 4-3 victory at Schneider Arena on Friday, November 20. Ashley Cottrell ( Sterling Heights, Mich.) scored her team-leading 10th goal of the season in the losing effort.
After netting a goal in the final two minutes of the first and two goals in the second, Northeastern clinched the comeback with a goal just 3:01 into the third period from Alyssa Wohlfeiler. Wohlfeiler beat PC goaltender Genevieve Lacasse (Scarborough, Ontario) up high from the left face-off circle to earn the victory.
Providence took an early, 3-0, lead with a trio of goals coming in the first 11:28 of the game. Freshman Jessica Cohen (Anchorage, Alaska) opened the scoring at 4:33 when she tipped in a Kate Bacon (Chanhassen, Minn.) wrist shot from the right face-off dot. The goal was Cohen's fourth of the season.
Freshman Nicole Anderson (Jordan, Minn.) doubled the PC lead with a power-play goal at 7:33. Sophomore Laura Veharanta (La Verne, Calif.) possessed the puck on the left wall and sent a pass to Cottrell on the goal line to the left of the NU cage. Cottrell baited her defender and found Anderson stationed at the top of the crease for her seventh goal of the season. The Friars would push the lead to 3-0 with another power-play tally at 11:28 when Cottrell snuck the puck between NU goaltender Florence Schelling and the right post. Junior Amber Yung (Rockville, Va.) earned her fifth assist on the play.
Northeastern would close the gap to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 18:23. Kristie Kehoe fired the puck past Lacasse from the left face-off dot after a pair of crisp passes from Brittany Esposito and Katy Applin.
The Huskies would go on to even the score with two goals in the second from Casey Pickett and Kelly Wallace before Wohlfeiler put home the game winner at the start of the third.
Schelling kept the Huskeis ahead with two great saves towards the end of the third. The NU goaltender denied a short-handed breakaway by PC forward Jean O'Neill (Strafford, Pa.) with a great sprawling save with the left pad before stuffing a Veharanta one-timer at the top of the crease with only 50 seconds remaining.
Prior to PC's next games, Providence will send Ashley Cottrell, Amber Yung and Genevieve Lacasse to Durham, N.H. to compete with the Hockey East All Stars against Team USA on Sunday, November 22 at 1:00 p.m. Assistant Coach Meredith Roth will be on the bench coaching for the Hockey East All Stars while former Friar great Karen Thatcher ('06) will represent Providence with Team USA.
Providence is in action next when they host defending National Champion and No. 6 Wisconsin for a pair of games in Schneider Arena. Game one is set for Friday, November 27 at 7:00 p.m. with game two slated for Saturday at 7:00 p.m.