DESJARDINS EARNS SECOND SHUTOUT OF WEEKEND AS NORTHEASTERN TOPS UCONN, 5-0
Junior goaltender Chloe Desjardins posts second shutout of weekend with 27 saves for huskies

Junior goaltender Chloe Desjardins made 27 saves for the Huskies

BOSTON - Junior Chloe Desjardins (27 saves) posted her second straight shutout as the Northeastern women's hockey team (16-13-2, 11-6-2 WHEA) finished off a regular season sweep of Connecticut with a 5-0 victory on Sunday at Matthews Arena.

Senior Katie MacSorley (Stratford, Ontario) had a goal and two assists to pace Northeastern, which won its 10th straight contest against UConn (9-21-2, 6-12-1 WHEA) and extended its Hockey East winning streak to eight consecutive games.

Senior Claire Santostefano (Wilmette, Ill.), redshirt senior Brittany Esposito (Edmonton, Alberta), sophomore Paige Savage (Johns Creek, Ga.) and freshman Hayley Scamurra (Williamsville, N.Y.) each had two points as the Huskies reached the five-goal plateau for the third time this season.

Northeastern scored two power-play goals in the first period and finished the weekend 3-for-7 with the man-advantage against UConn. The visiting Huskies went 0-for-4 on the power play and were outshot by the host Huskies, 36-27.

After turning in 60 minutes of dominant hockey on Saturday, Northeastern repeated the feat Sunday to post back-to-back shutouts for the first time since Nov. 4-5, 2011 against the same Connecticut Huskies.

Freshman Hayley Masters (Shanty Bay, Ontario) opened the scoring on the power play at the 15:55 mark of the first period. Esposito started the play with a cross-ice feed to Scamurra at the right half-wall. Scamurra then tossed a shot at the net that glanced off Masters, who was screening UConn netminder Sarah Moses (31 saves), and into the back of the net to make it 1-0 for the hosts.

The Huskies doubled the lead 3:18 later with a similar setup on the power play. This time it was freshman Heather Mottau (Milton, Mass.) who sent a cross-ice feed to Savage at the right circle. Savage then passed back across the crease to MacSorley, who was waiting at the left post to tap the puck home for her 15th goal of the season at the 19:13 mark of the opening period.

Desjardins (Saint-Prosper, Quebec) made a pair of key stops to maintain the 2-0 lead in the second period. The Huskies' netminder denied Leah Buress on a deflection in the goal-mouth early in the frame, before stoning Kayla Campero on a breakaway with a pad stop with just over 11 minutes to play in the stanza.

Minutes later, Northeastern added its third goal on a pretty passing play by Esposito, redshirt senior Kelly Wallace (Libertyville, Ill.) and Scamurra. After winning the puck along the left-wing boards, Esposito sent a pass in behind the UConn cage to Wallace. The redshirt senior spotted Scamurra open at the left of the net and the freshman made no mistake, beating Moses short-side on a shot that just barely crossed the goal line at the 10:55 mark of the second period.

The Huskies extended the lead to 4-0 in the final minute of the frame when Savage tipped a pass behind the net to MacSorley, who centered to a cutting Santostefano for a one-time wrister that beat Moses with 41 ticks showing on the clock.

Northeastern's special teams rose to the occasion to preserve the shutout in the third period with three penalty kills that allowed just four UConn shots.

With Desjardins and the NU defense suffocating the visiting Huskies, Northeastern went back on the attack and eventually produced a fifth goal when Santostefano put away a pass from MacSorley after a quick rush up the ice at the 16:19 mark of the final period.

The Huskies will close out the regular season on Feb. 22-23 with a home-and-home series vs. New Hampshire. Northeastern can finish either third or fourth in the Hockey East standings after Boston College and Boston University locked up spots one and two, respectively.

Notes

- Northeastern won its 10th straight game over UConn; the Huskies have outscored Connecticut by a 42-6 margin in that span.

- The Huskies have allowed just three goals against UConn in the last five meetings at Matthews Arena.

- Northeastern posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since Nov. 4-5, 2011, also against UConn.

- Masters scored her first career power-play goal and second career game-winning goal.

- Santostefano recorded her second straight multi-point effort and second career two-goal game.

- MacSorley (goal, two assists) posted her first three-point game of the season.

- Savage turned in her fifth two-assist performance of the year.

- Scamurra registered her third multi-point effort in the last seven games.

- Scamurra has points in six of her last seven games and nine points (four goals, five assists) during that span.

- Desjardins posted her seventh career shutout.

- Desjardins' three shutouts this season are tied for the Hockey East lead with Corinne Boyles (BC).