Women’s Basketball
The UMaine women’s basketball had an eventful winter break, traveling to South Carolina to take on the No. 8 University of North Carolina Tar Heels before beginning conference play back in Maine. The Black Bears finished the break with a 2-3 record, bringing their overall record to 11-6 and 3-1 in America East play.
Third-year Liz Wood led the Black Bears against the Tar Heels with a four point, 10 rebound effort in their farthest away game of the year. UMaine fell by a score of 65-36, getting outscored 41-18 in the second half.
The Black Bears were able to get back on track when they travelled to the College of William & Mary, leaving Williamsburg with a slim 54-51 victory. Second-year guard Sigi Koizar shined in the win, scoring 15 points and dishing out six assists while third-year center Anna Heise chipped in 11 points with five rebounds.
UMaine finally returned home for their first game of 2015, hosting the University at Albany for their first conference game of the season. The Black Bears lost a defensive struggle 49-43. Third-year Albany forward Shereesha Richards scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down four boards. Heise once again had a big game for the Black Bears, dropping 13 points in the losing effort.
Yale University nipped the Black Bears on a late layup by first-year guard Tamara Simpson. UMaine took a commanding 34-26 lead into halftime before struggling in the second half. Four Black Bears scored double-digits points, led by Koizar’s 14 points.
The Black Bears captured their first conference victory with a second-half surge at Hartford University in which they outscored the Hawks 44-22. Stellar defense, highlighted by 13 steals, propelled UMaine to a 68-57 win. Third-year guard Sophie Weckstrom, who had struggled early in the season, dropped a season-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting from the field. Cozier chipped in 17 points in the Black Bears’ final game of winter break.
Men’s Basketball
The UMaine men’s basketball team extended their losing streak to nine straight games, falling six times over break. Their record now stands at 1-16 and 0-5 in conference play.
The closest game was a trip to play the United States Military Academy. Fourth-year forward Zarko Valjarevic led the Black Bears with a game-high 22 points and six rebounds in a 72-69 overtime loss. UMaine was able to capitalize on 22 Army turnovers, scoring 26 points off of those turnovers.
The Black Bears experienced a difficult road loss to Seton Hall University 72-43. Seton Hall shot an efficient 49 percent from the field, out rebounding the Black Bears 46-32. Third-year forward Till Gloger was the only Black Bear to score in the double-digits, dropping 12 points.
Gloger turned in another strong performance as the Black Bears on the road against Quinnipiac University, scoring 19 points and pulling down six boards in an 81-64 loss. The Black Bears shot the ball well beyond the arc, shooting 39 percent. The defensive effort was not enough for head coach Bob Walsh, who tweeted “The level we defend at is beyond unacceptable. It’s cutting me to the core right now. My responsibility to change it. We will do that.”
The Black Bears then took on conference rival University of Vermont, falling 62-54. UMaine was able to take a two-point deficit into halftime before UVM pulled away in the second half. Third-year guard Shaun Lawton led the way, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high five rebounds.
The final game for men’s basketball came on the road against Binghamton University in which they experienced another second-half collapse in their 65-46 loss. After leading 30-29 at halftime, the Black Bears were outscored 36-16 in the final frame.
Men’s Ice Hockey
The UMaine men’s ice hockey team went 3-1, sweeping Canisius College and splitting a pair of games with the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. Two Black Bears earned Hockey East weekly conference awards during that span, giving Maine momentum as they begin conference play to round out their season.
The first honor was awarded to first-year wing Nolan Vesey, who was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week after a pair of goals and an assist during the Black Bears weekend sweep of Canisius College. The Black Bears won the first contest 4-1 and the second by a 3-1 score. Second-year forward Blaine Byron notched a pair of goals in the weekend series as well.
Second-year goaltender Matt Morris was named Hockey East defensive player of the week last Monday, after the Black Bears’ weekend series against the UMass Minutemen. Morris made 29 saves in net during the second game of the series, recording his first career shutout in a 3-0 victory for the Black Bears. First-year netminder Sean Romeo allowed three goals in game one and the Black Bears fell by a score of 3-2.
The Black Bears moved to 7-14-1 overall during break, and remain at 11th overall in Hockey East with a 2-6 record in conference play.
Women’s Ice Hockey
The first game against Moncton did not fair well for the Black Bears. The offense showed up, but they could not put the puck past solid Moncton goaltending. Moncton began the scoring on the power play in the first, when Brooklyn Langlois took an interference penalty. After the puck deflected off a skate in front of the net, Marie-Pier Arsenault put the puck past Maine goaltender Natalie Robinson to put Moncton up and rout the Black Bears 5-1.
The following weekend, Maine would take to the ice again, but against the BU Terriers in a Hockey East conference matchup. BU’s offense proved to be too much for Maine to handle, and they dropped the game 5-3.
Maine was outshot by the Terriers 36-29 in the game, but they also ran into another tough goaltender in first-year goaltender Erin O’Neil, who made 26 saves for her fifth win of the season. Treacy would take the loss making 31 saves.
After the games, Maine falls to 7-11-3 (6-4-1 WHEA) and currently sit alone in the third spot in the Hockey East standings with 13 points. BU improves to 13-5-2 (9-3-0 WHEA) and trail the conference leading Boston College Eagles by eight points. Maine will look to hold off Northeastern, who is only a win away from tying the Black Bears for the third spot in the conference. Maine will take to the ice at home versus Northeastern on Jan. 24 and 25 as they finish off the rest of their season in conference.