FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, Yale 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Ève-Audrey Picard broke a 1-1 tie with 12:13 remaining in regulation to lift the Vermont women's hockey team to a 2-1 New Year's Eve victory over Yale on Saturday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
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Now 4-0-1 in its last five and finishing unbeaten in the month of December, the Catamounts are 8-6-5 on the season while Yale drops to 4-8-3.
 
Madison Litchfield preserved the win with 25 stops for UVM and Yale's Tera Hofmann made 28 saves at the other end. UVM's Alyssa Gorecki also chipped in a goal and an assist, inking the scoresheet for the fourth time in her last five games.
 
"We really stepped up and played well against a much tougher Yale team today," said head coach Jim Plumer. "We are still shaking off the rust from our three-week break but we showed a lot of our trademark resilience and I'm excited to see us resume our Hockey East schedule this coming week."
 
The Catamounts struck on the power play to take a 1-0 advantage in the first period. Tangled up in a puck battle with a Yale skater, Cassidy Campeau sent a short feed to Gorecki at the top of the right circle, where the sophomore one-timed her shot above the glove of Hofmann at 13:39. Taylor Willard received the secondary assist on the play.
 
Emma Vlasic then found the back of the net for the Bulldogs early in the second period. Jordan Chancellor received a pass at the blue line from Kara Drexler and skated in along the left wing, cutting towards goal at the circle. The puck came loose, allowing Vlasic to spin and backhand it past Litchfield at 4:46 for the equalizer.
 
Picard then gave the Catamounts the lead for the balance of the afternoon in the middle stages of the final frame. Willard sent the puck towards Gorecki as the latter redirected the feed just above Hofmann. Picard played the carom and tapped it home for the game-winner.
 
Vermont once again turned in a clean performance on the penalty kill, going 4-for-4 on the day. UVM has now killed off 29 consecutive penalties over its last eight games and is 73-for-80 (91.2 percent) on the kill this season. That figure is tied with Minnesota for sixth across the country.
 
Hockey East play now resumes for the Catamounts, who take on Merrimack on Tuesday, Jan. 3 from Lawler Rink in North Andover, Massachusetts. Opening draw is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 women's hockey season