By Jacob Posik
The University of Maine women’s ice hockey dropped a pair of games to Providence College this weekend to remain winless at 0-11-3 and 0-7-3 against Hockey East opponents.
The first loss came Saturday afternoon by a score of 8-1 on a hat trick effort by Providence freshman forward Cassidy Carels, as well as a pair of goals by graduate student forward Janine Weber.
The Black Bears fell again by a score of 4-2 on Sunday to complete the Friars’ sweep. Sophomore forward Audra Richards tallied a pair of goals for Maine on the weekend, but the Black Bears were unable to earn their first victory of the year.
Providence improves to 6-10-0 on the season, 3-5 in Hockey East play.
Carels hat trick propels Friars to 8-1 win
Providence wasted no time racking up goals on UMaine in this one. The Friars tallied three goals by senior defender Maggie Pendleton, sophomore forward Brittney Thunstrom and Weber in the first 15 minutes of action before the Black Bears were able to respond.
After a Providence defender was penalized for checking, Richards scored on assists from sophomore forward Shawna Lesperance and senior defender Kelly McDonald for a power play goal. UMaine set up their power play offense and got Providence out of position for Richards to snipe home her shot over the outreaching glove of Providence sophomore netminder Sarah Bryant.
The excitement was short lived for the Black Bears. Providence responded with Carels’ first goal of the contest just 3 minutes later, and UMaine trailed 4-1 entering the first intermission.
UMaine pulled starting sophomore goaltender Meghann Treacy after the first and replaced her with freshman Mariah Fujimagari for the second period. Fujimagari didn’t have much success either for the Black Bears, allowing four goals in the remaining two periods.
Carels scored her second goal of the game early in the second period, as did Weber, to increase the Friar’s lead to 6-1 by the end of the second period.
Providence netted two more tallies in the final frame to finish off the 8-1 score line. The first was scored by junior forward Haley Frade at the two minute mark of the period. Carels finished off her hat trick with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation.
This game set team records for Providence, who tallied season-highs in both goals with eight and shots on goal with 39. All goals scored by the Friars came at even strength. Bryant saved 19 shots in net for Providence, while Treacy and Fujimagari combined for 31.
Providence power play the difference in 4-2 win over Black Bears
UMaine battled better in game two, but ultimately weren’t capable of squeaking out a victory against Providence this weekend. The Friar’s held on to a 4-2 victory for their weekend sweep of the Black Bears.
The Black Bears struck first on a wrist shot from Richards that was assisted by senior forward Brianne Kilgour and sophomore defender Brooklyn Langlois just over a minute into the game.
It didn’t take long for Providence to respond. Junior forward Allison Micheletti tallied the response for the Friars with assists from fellow junior forward Beth Hanrahan and senior forward Corinne Buie just two minutes later.
The Black Bears took back the lead on a wrist shot from senior forward Missy Denk on an assist from junior forward Jennifer More that snuck past Bryant right before the first intermission. The Black Bears were in control for most of the first period, and showed up ready to play.
Providence tied things up for a second time early in the second period. This time it was Buie scoring for the Friars on the power play off an assist from junior forward Brooke Simpson that came just 2 1/2 minutes into the period.
Providence gained the lead for the first time in the contest on its second power play goal from sophomore defender Lexi Romanchuk. Treacy was out of position after a pass from Frade met Romanchuk’s stick and was unable to reach the puck before it found the back of the net.
A third power play goal was tallied by the Friars just a minute into the final period of action. Much like the second goal, the Friars’ power play setup moved Black Bear defenders out of position before Buie sent a shot that found the back of the net for her second marker of the contest. Romanchuk and Simpson both assisted on the tally.
Treacy played better in the second game of the weekend, saving 34 pucks for the Black Bears. Bryant saved 23 pucks for Providence, and had a great weekend in net for the Friars.
UMaine visits Robert Morris University Nov. 29 before traveling to take on Penn State University the following day. Both contests are set for a 2 p.m. puck drop.
The Friars begin play in the 19th annual Mayor’s Cup when they host Brown University Nov. 30 at 3 p.m.