The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team pushed its unbeaten streak to five games to start the 2011-12 season on Friday, earning a 2-2 tie with the University of New Hampshire at Appleton Arena.

The Saints, who hit two posts in the game and had a penalty shot stopped, move to 3-0-2 on the season while the Wildcats, who finished with a 32-30 edge in shots, are now 3-2-2.

"It was certainly an entertaining game to watch," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "I thought both teams played their best hockey with the game on the line."

The Saints jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:31 of the first period when first-year student Jacqueline Wand scored her first collegiate goal. The Cary, IL native took a pass from classmate Margo Lund and lifted a soft shot that fooled UNH goalie Jenn Gilligan to give the home team the early advantage. The Saints had a chance to add to their lead less than two minutes later when senior Vanessa Emond was given a penalty shot, but Gilligan made a sprawling pad save to keep her team down only one goal.

St. Lawrence rookie netminder Carmen MacDonald turned away all nine of the shots she faced in the first period, then made a brilliant stop on Kristina Lavoie from point-blank range to keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard early in the second stanza.

Sophomore Rylee Smith's fourth goal in five games gave the Scarlet and Brown a 2-0 edge late in the second period. After junior Michelle Ng found Smith cutting the boards on the power play, Smith snapped a wrist shot that hit the cross bar and bounced into the net for a 2-0 lead.

New Hampshire would respond quickly, as Emma Clark's first goal of the season cut the visitor's deficit to 2-1 with only 1:47 left in the second period. After MacDonald made a save in the crease, the puck was punched into the slot where Clark wristed home a shot to get UNH on the board before heading to the third period.

St. Lawrence came out rolling in the third period, but was unable to beat Gilligan to extend its lead. Senior Alley Bero was stoned on a breakaway try, while rookie Amanda Boulier hit the near post with a wrist shot. After failing to capitalize on their chances, the Saints watched as their opponents cashed in at the 7:46 mark on the power play. Despite MacDonald making two saves, the puck remained loose at the top of the goal mouth, and Heather Kashman slipped a pass to Nicole Gifford who one-timed the puck into the net tie knot the game at 2-2.

Both teams had outstanding chances down the stretch, but the goaltenders were up to the task throughout the remainder of the third period. Though the Saints owned the offensive tries in overtime, Gilligan provided three clutch saves to preserve the 2-2 tie for the Wildcats.

St. Lawrence finished 1-of-9 on the power play, while UNH was 1-of-7. MacDonald made 30 stops for the home team, while Gilligan countered with 28.

The Saints will put their five-game unbeaten streak on the line tomorrow, Saturday, October 22 when they face nationally-ranked No. 4 Boston University at Appleton Arena at 2:00pm.