DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Brittany Hawkins (Hampstead, N.H.) finished off a see-saw battle with a score less than three minutes into the second overtime period, as the Fighting Scots (10-7, 7-3 CCC) held off upset-minded Nichols on a chilly Tuesday night. Hawkins netted her first hat-trick of the season, but none more important than the golden goal to end a 3-3 tie.
 
Senior Andrea Wilson (Bedford, N.H.) recorded a goal and an assist, while classmates Kaylee McNamara (Watertown, Mass.) and Avery Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) also scored as the Bison (3-12, 1-8 CCC) were outshot by the Fighting Scots 31-17. Senior goalie Emily Mercure (Milton, Vt.) stopped a career-high 20 shots for Nichols. The overtime loss was the third for the Bison this season.
 
Wilson opened the scoring at 9:14 when she knocked in a pass from senior Jenn Townsend (Wethersfield, Conn.) at the right post. Senior Karli Weiss (Perkasie, Pa.) pulled Gordon even on a penalty stroke at 24:44. The Fighting Scots grabbed a 2-1 lead right before halftime as senior Grace Fabry (Escondido, Calif.) found Hawkins for her first goal of the evening at 34:59.
 
Hawkins carried the Gordon offense for much of the night, scoring the second and third goals of the night for the Fighting Scots to build a 3-1 lead early in the second half. After giving the Scots a cushion, the Bison answered with McNamara at 53:08 and Orszulak at 4:02 to tie the game at three. The Fighting Scots held a 5-1 edge in shots in overtime before depositing the game-winner.
 
Sophomore Shannon Hicks (Scarborough, Maine) made five saves to earn her 10^th win of the season.
 
The Bison play at Western New England Saturday at 1 p.m. Gordon hosts Babson Saturday at noon, a team that has lost five straight games heading into the contest. Babson is 2-0 against Commonwealth Coast Conference opponents this season, beating Endicott and UNE by identical 2-1 scores in the early stages of 2014. 


Portions of release courtesy of Nichols Sports Information