RUTLAND, Vt. – Junior forward Julie Fortier (Saint-Malachie, Que.) became the second Cadet to record 100 career points as Norwich skated to a 8-1 victory over Castleton in ECAC East action on Saturday night at Spartan Arena.
Fortier tallied the milestone point at 10:08 of the first period with a wrist shot that beat Spartans' goaltender Amanda Hoy (Brockport, N.Y.) top-shelf glove side. Junior forward Melissa Rundlett (Saco, Maine) set up the goal with a tape-to-tape pass from behind the net while freshman forward Renee Lortie (Cornwall, Ont.) also assisted on Fortier's 12th goal of the season and 51st of her career.
The Cadets improve to 14-3-1 overall on the season and 11-0-1 in the ECAC East. The Spartans fall to 5-11-2 and 3-8-1 in ECAC East play.
Castleton was first to crack the scoreboard early in the first period at 2:24 as senior forward Laura Szwed (White Lake, Mich.) cleaned up Sterling Nelson's (Madison, Conn.) rebound in front of the net past Norwich goaltender Joanie Plamondon (Pont-Rouge, Que.) for a 1-0 advantage.
The Cadets responded with five unanswered goals over the next two periods and never looked back. At 6:40, senior forward Sophie Leclerc (Barre, Vt.) tied the contest at 1-1 with a wrister through Hoy's five-hole for her team-leading 16th goal of the season.
After Fortier's milestone goal, freshman forward Meaghan Papagno (Wakefield, Mass.) achieved a milestone of her own potting her first-collegiate goal at 14:26 on assists from Leclerc and Jillayne DeBus (Howell, Mich.).
In the second, Fortier tallied her second goal of the game at 7:56 receiving a feed from Lortie who was stationed behind the net for a 4-1 advantage. Leclerc made it 5-1 at 12:28 putting home a loose puck in front of the net.
Leclerc capped an impressive night at 5:35 of the third period tallying her third goal of the game on a feed from Papagno in the slot for a 6-1 score. Senior forward Sarah Scardino (Stoughton, Mass.) notched her fourth goal of the season a minute later and junior defenseman Sarianne Lynn (Wethersfield, Conn.) potted her fourth marker of the season at 7:13 to round out the scoring for Norwich.
Plamondon (3-1-1) turned away seven shots for the Cadets while Hoy made 38 saves.
Castleton returns to Spartan Arena on February 4 for an ECAC East matchup with Nichols College at 7 pm. The Spartans, along with the Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) and the Foley Cancer Center will join forces to "Pink the Rink" and raise breast cancer awareness.
Castleton will wear collectors' edition pink jerseys donated by RRMC during the game. All jerseys are available for purchase via an online auction, currently being held here. All proceeds will be donated back to the Breast Care Program.
