By Madeline Sattler, News Staff

The women’s ice hockey team got back on its winning ways at home with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Dartmouth College on Wednesday.

Sophomore forward Kendall Coyne notched the game winner as part of a two-goal performance to lead the Huskies to victory.

“It was a great hockey game,” head coach Dave Flint said. “I thought we played really hard. I thought we played well as a team.”

As both teams came out it appeared that Dartmouth was ready to go. They got several early shots off and eventually senior forward Sally Komarek got through for the Big Green.

“I thought we started out a little slow, but we got better as the game went on,” Flint said. “It’s good to see that the girls didn’t get frustrated.

The opening frame continued and the Huskies started to find their groove. Coyne carried the puck down the right side of the ice and sent a cross where junior forward Katie MacSoreley was waiting, but her shot was wide.

Northeastern had many more opportunities and finally sophomore defender Colleen Murphy put the puck in the net for her second goal of the season.

“The shots were really close,” Murphy said. “They went up, we went up and we tied it back.”

The second period saw a lot of back and forth action as each team got a couple chances early in the period. Junior forward Kelly Wallace sent a pass back to MacSoreley whose shot was just wide left.

“There were a couple bounces that were close,” Coyne said. “You just got to get right back into it and say, ‘Let’s get the next one,’ because you can’t let that affect you.”

Coyne put the Huskies ahead with a goal just over 11 minutes into the frame. She took a pass from freshman forward Tori Hickel on the right side and carried it towards the net. She sent a shot that soared just above Dartmouth goalie, junior Lindsay Holdcroft.

The Huskies made several mental mistakes in the third period that almost cost them the game.

With Dartmouth freshman forward Lindsey Allen sitting in the penalty box for slashing, the Huskies gave away the chance to do some damage when they were flagged for too many players on the ice. The mental lapse would cost them as Dartmouth scored on an abbreviated 57-second power play.

“I think composure is a big thing especially,” Murphy said.

A late Dartmouth penalty gave the Huskies a chance to win, but the Big Green successfully killed the power play and the game headed to overtime.

“I told them ‘let’s just keep it simple,” Flint said. “It didn’t have to be a pretty goal, it just needed to go in and that’s all we were looking for.”

Senior forward Casey Pickett took the puck down the ice and sent a pass to senior forward Rachel Llanes who had a wide-open shot. But she couldn’t handle the pass and overtime continued.

Coyne would seal the deal for the Huskies just over two minutes into overtime. Freshman forward Paige Savage had the assist on the play and the Huskies celebrated their first home victory since Nov. 10.

The Huskies have a long break to enjoy finals and the holiday before returning to action Jan. 3 at St. Lawrence University. They will return to Matthews Arena on Jan. 9 to face the Boston College Eagles.

“Our team motto the last couple of weeks has been lets go up, and lets move forward,” Coyne said. “I think this is a good start and we’re leaving on a good note.”