The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team battled to a split in their home series against the Providence College Friars. Maine won game one on Saturday 3-2 before losing the finale on Sunday 2-1 in overtime.
Special teams powers Maine’s win
The Black Bears wasted no time scoring in game one of their series with Providence, scoring just 48 seconds into the opening frame on the power play. Maine had a clean breakout and forwards Jillian Langtry and Audra Richards passed the puck through the neutral zone to Hailey Browne who took a shot from the right circle that beat Friars third year goaltender Allie Morse glove side to give the Black Bears a 1-0 lead.
Maine would score again 5 minutes into the second period, when fourth-year captain Jennifer More received tapped home a rebound in the crease. First-year forward Brooke Stacey and second-year forward Emilie Brigham worked a give and go behind the net to create the initial shot, and More swooped in from the slot to bury the rebound.
“The first half of the game we played really well,” More said on her team’s performance. “We got a lot of shots on goal. We had a little lapse in the second, but we came back strong in the 3rd and came away with the win.”
More also said that getting rebounds, like the one she scored on, was something they worked on during their two week break from play, in addition to the power play.
Maine would falter a bit in the second, allowing the Friars to get on the board. After a slap shot from Providence’s Victoria Virtue was stopped by Maine goaltender Meghann Treacy, the puck was eventually passed across the crease to a waiting Beth Hanrahan, whose shot beat Treacy to cut Maine’s lead in half with 5 minutes remaining in the second.
Maine would take the 2-1 lead into the second intermission, but would expand the lead once again on the power play. After Friars defenseman Kendra Goodrich was called for hooking at 7:54 of the third, Lexi Romanchuk was called for tripping just over a minute later. This gave the Black Bears a five-on-three advantage, and More would cash in for her second goal of the game. After a shot by Richards was saved by Morse, More was able to corral the rebound and beat Morse stick side low to give Maine the 3-1 lead.
“Our power play worked really well. We’ve struggled with our power play heading into this game but we practiced it, and I think we really used that to our advantage,” More said on Maine’s special teams effort.
Down by two, Providence pulled Morse for the extra attacker for just under a minute, and broke through on a shot from the slot by Haley Frade that evaded a few bodies in front of the net and beat Treacy five hole. But that was all the Friars would get as Maine hung on to win 3-2.
Maine outshot the Friars 38-31 in the game, and both goaltenders played well to keep their teams in the game. The real difference was the power play. Providence came into this game with the second highest penalty minutes per game, and after the weekend, leads Hockey East with the most penalty minutes per game with 9.6. Maine went 2-8 on the power play, while the Providence went 0-2. Maine Coach Richard Reichenbach worked with the team on the power play during the break and noticed the offensive improvement.
“The way we’re going to create offense is exactly what we did today, getting pucks to the net and getting rebounds. […] It’s a really a grind-it-out and find the back of the net style. It was displayed and it worked for us today,” Reichenbach said.
Friars steal a win in overtime
Game two was a much lower scoring affair, with each team getting their chances early and both Morse and Treacy kept the puck out of the net. After a stalemate first period, Providence began to dominate play. Despite being outshot by Maine 25-17 in the game, it would be the Friars who would score first at 12:33 of the third.
After a pass from the point from Romanchuk went down low behind the net, the puck was collected by Friars forward Brooke Simpson and passed quickly to Hanrahan who deflected the puck past the stick of Treacy to give Providence the late 1-0 lead.
This did not deter the Black Bears, who battled back and answered with a goal of their own with only 4:23 to play in regulation. After a shot by defenseman Kelsey MacSorley was stopped by Morse, the puck slid towards the left post Maine forward Jillian Langtry poked the puck through the crease past the diving Morse. Morgan Sakundiak received the pass and scored on the open net to tie the score 1-1. The game would get a bit physical towards the end of the game, but the score remained tied.
The first 3 minutes of overtime were graced with end to end action and scoring chances for both teams, until Goodrich was called for interference with 1:25 left on the clock. Maine would get a few chances on the power play, but the Providence defense held up. After a clear by the Friars, the puck was turned over behind the Maine net, and Providence forward Allison Micheletti passed the puck to a wide open Hanrahan in the slot who beat Treacy high for the game winner with 17 seconds left. For Hanrahan, it was her second goal of the game.
“We played a solid 120 minutes [of hockey],” said Providence head coach Bob Deraney. “We withstood a lot of pressure by Maine and we played with a lot of composure and the one thing is we weren’t afraid of the adversity, and we weren’t afraid to step up.”
The Friars defiantly stepped up, working hard for their second win of the season, only taking four penalties in the process. Despite the loss, Maine still felt good about their performance.
“Overall, we played really well as a team,” Sakundiak said after the game. “We played strong defensively and when we got offensive chances we took them. […] We’ve got a big weekend at [Vermont] next weekend, so we just need to build off of how we played this weekend.”
“I thought we played strong, and we had a sold weekend,” Treacy said on the series. “Obviously I’m not happy about the two goals today, but I think I played solid through the weekend.”
Coach Reichenbach also commented on the disappointing finish for Maine.
“Our effort was there, we held them to under 20 shots so defensively we were up to par this weekend. […] I think offensively our execution wasn’t where it needed to be. […] It’s just looking for that 120 minutes of consistent play with and without the puck.”
After the weekend, Maine sits at 5-8-2 (4-2-1 WHEA) and hold the fourth place rank in the conference, just one point behind Boston University and Northeastern, who are tied for second. Providence is now 2-11-3 (2-4-1 WHEA) and is in fifth place. Maine will travel to Vermont for a Hockey East conference series over Thanksgiving weekend and then will come home to the Alfond to face Boston College on Dec. 5.