The University of Maine women’s hockey team traveled to Brown University over the weekend, where they were swept by the Brown Bears. Maine dropped a 5-2 decision on the Friday night game before falling in Saturday’s contest 5-3.

Game One might look like a blowout game, but the contest was much closer than the score might indicate. Brown began the scoring just 16 seconds into the first period, when fourth-year forward Sarah Robinson found fellow fourth-year Kaitlyn Keon in the neutral zone. Keon skated the puck around the defense and beat Black Bear goalkeeper Meghann Treacy on the stick side to give Brown a 1-0 lead.

The Brown Bears would make the lead 2-0 when they scored a power play goal halfway through the first period. After a hooking call against third-year defenseman Brooklyn Langlois, the Brown Bears established an offensive presence and cashed in on the man advantage. After feeding the puck to the point from behind the net, the puck was passed to fourth-year defenseman Laura Vella, whose shot from the point was wide of the net, but then was deflected past Treacy off of a skate in front of the net.

Maine would respond off of a rebound in front of the Brown net. Fourth-year defenseman Brittney Huneke took a shot from the point that was stopped by Brown Bears goalie Monica Elvin in traffic. But Elvin could not corral the rebound, which was passed across the crease by third-year forward Audra Richards. The pass found third-year forward Abby Cook who buried the puck in the practically open net to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Black Bears got the equalizer on the penalty kill, when second-year forward Emilie Brigham received a stretch pass from fourth-year defenseman Jessica Hall. Brigham took a few strides before firing a wrist shot over the stick-side shoulder of Elvin to tie the game at two.

Brown would get the go ahead goal at 14:45 of the second period, when Robinson found second-year forward Erin Conway in the offensive zone who took a shot from the right dot that beat Treacy glove side. Brown would add another just 3:39 into the third to put the game out of reach, when a shot by third-year defenseman Hunter Davis was stopped by Treacy, but a loose rebound was tucked into the net by Keon for her second goal of the game. The Brown Bears would also add an empty net goal in the final minute.

While the Black Bears outshot the Brown Bears 32-27, Elvin played a solid game to keep Maine off the scoreboard. Elvin made 30 saves while Treacy stopped 22 of the 26 shots she faced. Treacy was recently named the Hockey east goaltender of the month for October. Maine went 0-4 on the power play while Brown went 1-2.

The Black Bears played well early Saturday, though a late rally from Brown felled UMaine.

UMaine had a blazing start as they opened up the scoring at the 25-second mark when third year forward Audra Richards buried the puck into the back of the net, beating first-year goalkeeper Julianne Landry.

The Black Bears scored again less than 2 minutes later when second-year forward Emilie Brigham scored off of an assist from second-year forward Morgan Sakundiak, giving the Black Bears a 2-0 lead. Sakundiak recorded a goal of her own at the 6:59 mark off of a power play, propelling UMaine to a 3-0 lead. The first period scoring ended with a goal from fourth-year forward Sarah Robson, drawing to Brown within two.

The second period belonged to Brown, scoring two goals to UMaine’s zero. Fourth-year forward Kaitlyn Keon began the scoring at the 5:10 mark, beating second-year goalkeeper Mariah Fujimagari, making it a 3-2 game. Just 4 minutes later, Keon netted her second goal of the period to give Brown a 2-0 lead.

Brown pulled away from the Black Bears in the third period, which was started at the 1:28 mark when first year forward Sam Donovan put the puck in the net, giving Brown their first lead of the game at 4-3. With just nine seconds left in the game, the Black Bears pulled Fujimagari to try and tie the game, however Sarah Robson had other plans. Robson sealed the deal with an empty net goal at the 19:51 mark to give Brown the 5-3 win.

With the second win against the Black Bears on the weekend, Brown improved to 3-4-0 on the season, while the loss dropped UMaine to 4-7-2.

The University of Maine Black Bears next hit the ice on Nov. 22 as they host Providence for a two-game series, the second taking place on Nov. 23.