FINAL SCORE (OT): Vermont 1, No. 8 Providence 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Saana Valkama scored her fourth goal of the season and Sydney Scobee made 24 saves between the pipes as the Vermont Catamounts played the Providence College Friars to a 1-1 tie Sunday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
Vermont's record moves to 5-13-4 and 3-9-3 in Hockey East play and the eighth-ranked Friars move to 13-5-5 overall and 9-1-3 in conference play.
 
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"It was another tooth and nail battle with an excellent hockey team today," Head Coach Jim Plumer said. "As tough as it is to not get wins this weekend, it is really evident to anyone who watches us just how much this team has improved. In the last ten days we have really made strides and I know we are heading towards peaking at the end of the season."
 
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening period despite chances at both ends. Mackenzie MacNeil had the best chance of the period with just over a minute remaining. While on the penalty kill, she stole the puck from a Providence defender and came down on a breakaway. She deked to her left but Madison Myers stayed with her and made the stop.
 
The Catamounts struck first 4:13 into the middle frame. Valkama tipped a shot from Anna Erickson in front of the net over Myers for the goal. Erickson picked up her first collegiate point with the helper.
 
Vermont killed a penalty called against Scobee with 6:07 left to play, and the teams went scoreless for the remainder of the period.  The Friars held a 19-15 advantage in shots through two frames, with Scobee stopping all 19 shots and Myers tallying 14 saves.
 
PC's Maureen Murphy tied the game 5:17 into the final period. She picked up a pass from Neve Van Pelt and ripped a shot top shelf from just under the faceoff circle to Scobee's left.
 
The Cats killed a hooking penalty called against Erickson with just under six minutes remaining in regulation with strong defensive clears and saves from Scobee.
 
Following an icing call, Providence called a timeout with 1:54 remaining in regulation to make a line change. Neither team found much offense in the final two minutes, and regulation ended at 1-1.
 
Providence and Vermont both had chances in the extra period, with Vermont holding a 4-1 shot advantage. However, the buzzer sounded before either team could break the deadlock.  
 
UVM held a 31-25 lead in shots through the game. Neither team took struck during power plays with Vermont killing two Friar advantages and Providence killing three Catamount advantages.
 
Vermont travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota for a pair of games against the sixth-ranked Golden Gophers. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13 and again at 5:07 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.
 
"We are looking forward to heading west to face Minnesota, one of the storied programs in women's hockey and I know we are all up for the challenge," Plumer added.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2017-18 women's hockey season