New York Riveters Continue to Roll, Defeat Whale 4-0
Katie Fitzgerald and Riveters earn first shutout in franchise history (@NYRiveters/Twitter)
Connecticut Whale 0 (2-3-0, 4 pts)
New York Riveters 4 (2-3-1, 5 pts)
NEWARK, NJ - The New York Riveters look to be clicking and have found their groove in the last three games. After splitting the weekend series with in-state rival the Buffalo Beauts last weekend, the Riveters hosted the Connecticut Whale on Sunday and earned their first shutout victory in franchise history.
In their last meeting, the Riveters put up a battle before falling to the Whale 4-2 on October 16th. This time around, New York got some revenge scoring four goals on Connecticut who drop to last in standings with four points. Katie Fitzgerald led the charge for the Rivs making 28 saves to earn her first career shutout. Rebecca Russo netted two points on the night with two goals in the second period. In the first period, D'Oench the Riveters leading scorer, lit the lamp first with her fourth goal of the season giving New York a 1-0 lead. Despite a sluggish start the Whale started to generate better opportunities in the latter half of the period.
After a back and forth 10 minutes in the second period, Rebecca Russo received a pass from Madison Packer and found the back of the net to double the Riveters lead. A short while later, still in the second, Russo and Packer combined again for a 3-0 Riveters advantage. It was the first multi-goal game for Russo this season. Shenae Lundberg got the start in net for the Whale, making 14 saves on 17 shots.
Janine Weber score a late empty net goal to make the final 4-0 in favor of the Riveters. Fitzgerald coming off a busy weekend against the Beauts was sensational in net. The Whale peppered the net with shots but could not convert. In the second period, Fitzgerald had to make three consecutive saves to preserve the shutout and did so in spectacular fashion. As the season has progressed, her confidence between the pipes has improved and now has the New York Riveters in second place going into the Holiday break.
Both teams will resume action on December 3rd.
