John Abbott scored unanswered goals in the second and third periods to earn a 2-2 tie with host Vermont in an exhibition game Friday night.
The Catamounts jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from newcomers Whitney Gage and Lindsey Neilson.
Gage, the 2000 America East Rookie of the Year in field hockey, roofed a shot past Lady Islanders’ goalie Jessica Anderson with just four seconds left in the first period. Neilson followed with a nifty one-timer at the 15:54 mark of the second period.
However, the Cats couldn’t hang onto the lead. Valerie Bazinet scored at 17:16 of the second period to get the Islanders back within one (2-1) as the teams headed into the second intermission.
Lindsay McCusky slipped one past Vermont goalie Tiffany Hayes at the 7:38 mark of the third to knot the game up 2-2 and force overtime.
John Abbott continued to pepper shots at Hayes in the extra session, but couldn’t get the winning goal.
Hayes finished the night with 34 saves, while Anderson and Chrissie Annett combined for 23 saves in net for John Abbott.
Vermont travels to John Abbott for a 5:00 p.m. game Saturday in the Catamounts’ final tune-up for the regular season. UVM opens the regular season on Saturday, November 18 versus Amherst at 2:00 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
