Gorham freshman Caitlin Caldwell notched the game-tying goal in the second period Saturday, as the Lady Rams skated to a 1-1 dead heat with Portland at the USM Ice Arena.

“It was a rough game with lots of penalties,” said Gorham’s Charlotte Stuart. “That’s not normal for us. We usually play a clean game.”

The Bulldogs got on the board early when sophomore Bridget Rumley grabbed the puck in her own end and skated down the right side, outracing her pursuers. She flipped it into the net just three minutes into the opening period for the 1-0 lead.

Despite outshooting their opponents, 4-2, in the first, the Rams couldn’t get on the board, but 90 seconds into second period there was a scrum in front of the Portland net that did the trick.

A shot by Katie Bowring was swatted away and the puck landed on Caldwell’s stick. She stuck it into the cage for the equalizer.

The final frame saw both teams becoming increasingly desperate to break the deadlock. Gorham tallied four shots in the period and Portland had three, as both squads tried everything they could to win the game.

“We couldn’t capitalize on any of their penalties,” said Gallant.

Several good chances were stifled by excellent defensive stick work and solid goaltending. Rams netminder Nicole Johns was stellar, turning away seven of Portland’s eight shots in the game.

“The penalties really put us down,” said Muller. “We tried our best.”

Gorham now looks ahead to a tough week as they square off Wednesday against Cheverus, followed by another home game against York the following night and a game Saturday against Skowhegan.