2001-02 Schedule/Results
2001-02 Statistics

Niagara 1, Northeastern 0
Nov. 25, 2001
Matthews Arena (Boston, MA)

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
Niagara (10-2-0, 7-1-0 ECAC Eastern)	0	1	0	1
Northeastern (10-1-0, 6-1-0 ECAC Eastern)	0	0	0	0

BOSTON, MA — Northeastern’s 10-game winning streak to start the season came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 defeat to eighth-ranked Niagara.

With the victory, the Purple Eagles reclaim sole possession of first place in ECAC Eastern with a 7-1-0 record, 10-2-0 overall. Northeastern, ranked fifth in the country, drops to 10-1-0, 6-1-0 in ECAC Eastern. The Huskies were trying to match the best start to a season since the 1991-92 team began the year 11-0-0.

The Purple Eagles ended NU’s undefeated run a day after it was the Huskies who put an end to Niagara’s undefeated record in league play. Northeastern defeated Niagara on Saturday 2-0.

The game’s lone goal came at 13:47 of the second period with Niagara on the power-play. Brooke Bradburn (Brampton, ONT) had the puck between the faceoff circles and passed to her right to Valerie Hall (Niagara Falls, ONT). Hall then fired a wrist shot past Northeastern goalie Chanda Gunn (Huntington Beach, CA). The 1-0 deficit was only the third time all season that the Huskies had trailed in a game.

Northeastern was outshot for the game 33-24 as the Purple Eagles kept most of the action in the Northeastern end during the game. But with 1:52 remaining in the contest, the Huskies pulled goalie Gunn for an extra skater. The tactic produced a number of quality scoring chances but Niagara goalie Tania Pinelli (Hamilton, ONT) came up with a number of big saves. With the clock winding down to under 20 seconds to play, players for both teams scrambled in front of the Niagara net. The puck trickled out to Brooke Whitney (Snohomish, WA) alone in front. Before Whitney could fire a shot, the net became dislodged. The officials ruled that it was intentionally dislodged by a Niagara player resulting in a delay of game penalty at 19:48. With less than two minutes to play, a delay of game penalty results in a penalty shot. Whitney, the team’s leader in goals with eight who has 62 career goals, attempted the penalty shot. She broke down the center of ice, put a few fakes on Pinelli and tried to stuff it glove side inside the post. But Pinelli was up to the task smothering the puck and putting a stop to the NU scoring chance.

Gunn finished the game with 32 saves and stopped 65 of 66 shots she faced in the weekend series with Niagara. Pinelli made 24 saves for the Purple Eagles.

Northeastern will return to action next weekend with a home-and-home series with Providence. The Huskies will play at Providence on Saturday and then play at Matthews Arena on Sunday.

SCORING
First Period: no scoring. Second Period: Niagara, (PP) Valeria Hall 9 (Brooke Bradburn, Teresa Marchese-Del Monte) 13:47. Third Period: no scoring.

Shots: Niagara 34; Northeastern 24
Saves: Niagara, Tania Pinelli 24 (3-8-13); Northeastern, Chanda Gunn 32 (10-13-9)
Penalties: Niagara 3/4; Northeastern 5/10
Power-Plays: Niagara 1-4; Northeastern 0-1