HANOVER, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's hockey team fell at Dartmouth College Tuesday night by a score of 3-2. The loss drops the Wildcats to 3-7-0 on the season while the Big Green improve to 4-1-0 overall.
Dartmouth's Jenna Hobeika nearly got the Big Green on the board early in the first period with a point-blank shot but was denied by Vilma Vaattovaara (Veikkola, Finland).
Freshman forward Brittney Redlick (Biggar, Saskatchewan) got the Wildcats on the board early in the first period with her second goal of the season. Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.) passed the puck up to Jessica Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario) who found the pass in front of the net. Hitchcock tried to hammer the puck home but the puck squirted over to Redlick who was waiting at the left post and poked it home. The Big Green leveled the score when Hobeika tallied a power play goal to make the game 1-1. Karlee Odland found Camille Dumais who in turn sent the puck to Hobeika in the slot to tally an assist on the play.
Dartmouth's Laura Stacey tallied a goal at 4:11 in the second period when she notched a shot in front of the net that beat UNH netminder Vaattovaara on her blocker side. Hannah Armstrong (Newmarket, Ontario) leveled the score at 2-2 at the 5:47 mark of the period when she managed to net the puck amidst a scrum in front of the net. Kailey Chappell (Pickering, Ontario) and Kristine Horn (Utica Mich.) tallied assists on the play.
The Big Green took a 3-2 lead with 18 seconds remaining in the period when Lindsey Allen scored in the top left section of the net. The play originated when Hbeika won a faceoff down Dartmouth's own half of the ice. Stacey found the puck and skated down the ice with it, banging a pass of the wall to herself in the process. She then found Allen in front of the net for the goal. Through two periods of play, Dartmouth held a 3-2 lead.
Megan Armstrong (Edina, Minn.) made a valiant effort in the third period when she blazed down the ice with the puck and fired a wrist shot from the top of faceoff circle, but the attempt was stopped by Dartmouth goalie Lindsay Holdcroft. New Hampshire kept the offense coming with shots by Horn and Hitchcock.
On the ensuing Wildcat power play, Lauren Kirwan (DeWitt, N.Y.) peppered Holdcroft and the Dartmouth defense with shots. Despite the surge in offense, Dartmouth ultimately won the game, 3-2.
Vaattovaara got the decision in net for the 'Cats after making 25 saves on the 28 shots she faced. Her record now stands at 3-6-0. Holdcroft got the win for Dartmouth, making 23 saves on 25 shots. Her record improves to 3-0-0. New Hampshire was 0-for-3 on the power play while Dartmouth was 1-for-5 with the advantage.
The squad will return to action Friday, Nov. 9 when they host Boston University for a Hockey East game. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.