NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell at third-ranked Norwich University, 3-0, on Friday in Kreitzberg Arena during Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East action. The Purple Knights are now 2-13 overall and 1-8 in the league, while the Cadets improved to 11-3-2 and 8-0-1. Norwich, which is third in both Division III national polls, advanced to four of the last five NCAA Division III Tournament title games, including finishing 2013-14 as the national runner up. The Cadets have won the last three ECAC East Tournaments.

Sophomore Tina Frasca (Norwood, Mass./Tabor Academy) made 37 stops for her 17th career 30-save outing for Saint Michael's. Classmate Erin Dwyer (Weymouth, Mass./Charles River) went 10-for-19 on face-offs, while first-year Jillian Witwicki (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) won five in eight attempts.

Senior Kaycie Anderson (Maple Plain, Minn./Minnesota Crunch U-19AA) scored while adding an assist for Norwich, and first-years Sarah Schwenfeier (Hingham, Mass./Tabor Academy) and Maki Shuchuk (Madison, Wis./Madison Capitals) also tallied. Classmate Muranda Toews (Grand Prairie, Alberta/Okanagan Hockey Academy) dished off two assists, and senior Loren Carrier (Chandler, Ariz./Ohio State) recorded eight saves.

Frasca made 15 of her saves in the first period alone, including stopping the first nine before Norwich cracked the scoring column. With 11:31 gone, Shuchuk converted passes from Anderson and Toews to make it 1-0. Six of the next seven shots were by Cadets, with Frasca stopping each, while Witwicki had a game-tying bid denied by Carrier in the final eight minutes. Anderson doubled her squad's advantage at 16:37, with Toews assisting.

Saint Michael's won the final three face-offs of the period, with Dwyer victorious on a pair, and the last two shots came off of Purple Knight sticks, but sophomore Carolyn Avery (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) and first-year Amanda Donahoe (Wakefield, Mass./Saint Mary's) both had attempts stopped.

The Purple Knights had a strong defensive second period, holding the Cadets scoreless on 12 shots. Frasca had eight stops alone during a pair of Norwich power plays in the opening 11:02, and the visitors later held the hosts without a shot during an ensuing 1:37 worth of penalty kill. At 13:54 of the third period, Schwenfeier provided an insurance tally.

Saint Michael's hosts Franklin Pierce University tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Ravens are second in the ECAC East standings, with the Purple and Gold losing twice by a lone goal to them thus far this season.