Norton leads Dutchwomen to win

by Ryan Fay

A captain is supposed to lead their team.

Union women's hockey senior co-captain Maddy Norton did just that on Friday.

The defenseman potted the game-winner on a rocket from the point with 38.4 seconds left in the third period to lead the Dutchwomen to a 2-1 win over Brown in ECAC action at Messa Rink.

"It was set up perfectly," Norton said of the goal, her second of the season. "Alex [Tancrell-Fontaine] fed me over [the puck] and I had a clear shot to the net. Stefanie Thomson was in front screening and that helped a lot. I was just glad we could put one in."

For a change, it was Union providing the late-game heartbreak. The Dutchwomen have lost a couple games late this season, including a 2-1 defeat against Northeastern on Oct. 11 where the Huskies scored the game-winner with under a minute to play.

"It's great to be on the other side of that," said Norton. "Unfortunately, I've had my share of being down a goal with 30 seconds left. It's great to finally get one for us."

Union (2-3-0 ECAC, 5-8-0 overall) fell behind when Brown freshman forward Erin Conway put the Bears on top, 1-0, at 13:09 of the first period. But the Dutchwomen rebounded, as Kathryn Tomaselli picked up her team-best fifth goal of the season just 50 seconds into the second period.

"That was huge," said Union head coach Claudia Barcomb. "We were down a goal, and it set a pace that we were going to come and rally back."

With the win, Union junior goaltender Shenae Lundberg became the program's all-time winningest netminder with 12 career victories. She surpassed Dana Smullyan, who won 11 games between 2002-2006.

Lundberg wasn't tested much as the Dutchwomen held Brown (0-4-1, 1-5-1) to 13 shots on goal, the lowest number of shots the Dutchwomen have allowed in a single game this season.

"And we blocked a lot of shots," added Barcomb, whose team blocked 14 shots in the winning effort. "We were really aggressive against them, which is good, and our team played well in front of our goal."

The win couldn't have come a better time for the Dutchwomen, who struggled mightily last weekend in a 5-1 loss at Colgate and an 8-1 blowout at then third-ranked Cornell.

"The win means a lot to the team," said Norton. "It was our second league win, and we were definitely hoping for it. We had a pretty disappointing weekend last weekend, and we've come out a lot harder this weekend. Hopefully, we can get another win tomorrow."

Union hosts Yale at 4 p.m Saturday. The Bulldogs are just 1-5-1 overall this season, including a 1-3-1 mark in ECAC play, but records can be deceiving.

"They're good," Barcomb said of Yale. "They're very gritty. We scouted them, and they have some skill. I hope it will be a good game for us."

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