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The University of Maine women’s hockey team will play its last game of 2002 this weekend after coming off a tough 3-2 loss to the Niagara University Purple Eagles.
“Every loss is a disappointment for an athlete, especially when you know that you were the better team that day,” senior forward Raffi Wolf said. “Unfortunately, Niagara scored twice on us using their power play at the end of [the] third period. We lost our focus killing the penalty the last few minutes in the game which led to the loss.”
That power play came at the end of the third period and was the turning point of the game as junior defenseman Naomi Smethurst was whistled for a five-minute slashing penalty at 13:14 of the period. The Purple Eagles took advantage as senior captain Valerie Hall scored her second goal of the game. Less than three minutes later, on the same power play, Bradi Cochrane scored the game-winning goal at the 16:08 mark of the period.
“We were going to win the game until we took the five-minute major, which I don’t agree with, but we put ourselves in that situation by not playing smart,” UMaine head coach Rick Filighera said.
Though she suffered her fifth defeat of the season, junior goaltender Lara Smart was named to the Hockey East honor roll this week after making 31 saves, with 17 in the third period alone.
This weekend the Black Bears face perhaps their toughest challenge of the season as they face off against the top-ranked team in the nation, Harvard University.
“They can play Olympians every other shift and that’s what they are going to do,” Filghera said. “We’re going to have to play our best. We can’t make mistakes. We can’t be in the box. We have to score on every chance. We can’t give up opportunities to score.”
Harvard is coming into the game with a record of 9-1-0 this season, dominating their opponents by outscoring them 59-11. The Crimson are led offensively by senior forward Jennifer Botterill, junior defenseman Angela Ruggiero and freshman forward Julie Chu, who are all top-10 in the nation in points. Botterill has accumulated an impressive 16 goals and 17 assists so far this season and has been named ECAC Player of the Week three times already this season. Junior goaltender Jessica Ruddock is currently the top-rated goalie in the nation, holding a 9-1-0 record with a 1.17 goals against average and .920 save percentage.
UMaine and Harvard have played seven games before, the Black Bears losing all seven. The teams met once last season, with UMaine losing 3-2 after a comeback in the third period, with two goals by junior forward Meagan Aarts.
After playing only two games at home this season, the Black Bears will play 13 of their last 18 games next year in the friendly confines of Alfond Arena.
“I certainly believe that we will come out flying after break,” Wolf said. “The team has a lot of character that we will need in order to be successful. Our advantage will be less traveling, which will help a lot. As long as we stay focused and positive as a team, we will earn the success we deserve.”
After this weekend’s game at Harvard, the Black Bears will return to action Jan. 6 against Colgate University at 7 p.m. at Alfond Arena.
Bangor Daily News