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ORONO – The University of Maine women’s hockey team found itself on the wrong end of a 5-1 score twice this weekend. Facing off against the No. 7 St. Lawrence Saints, the Black Bears struggled on defense and failed to capitalize on power-play opportunities en route to a set of losses.
The Black Bears got off to a bright start Saturday, with Vanessa Vani picking up Chantal Jaillet’s long pass from the blue line and firing it in after just 46 seconds for the 1-0 lead.
Vani followed up her goal with a penalty a few seconds later, sitting out two minutes for holding. The Black Bears defended well on the penalty kill, with senior Rachel Gettings making a couple of solid stops in goal.
The Saints got on the board after eight minutes, with Annie Guay scoring on the power play with a long-range shot from the left side. Despite a power-play opportunity and a couple of even-strength chances, the dying seconds of the period saw the Black Bears failing to add to their tally, ending at 1-1.
UMaine squandered three more power-play chances in the first half of the second period, and St. Lawrence took the advantage with an even-handed goal by Sabrina Harbec. Later in the period, with Jenna Cowan in the box for high sticking, Gettings made an impressive glove save to keep the one-goal difference.
With only 30 seconds left in the period, a mid-ice collision put two Black Bears prone on the ice as St. Lawrence broke towards the goal, with Sabrina Harbec netting her second tally of the game with the 5-on-3 advantage.
The Black Bears’ defense collapsed in the third period, leaving Gettings stranded on several occasions. Halfway through the period she was wide open, and the Saints’ Tara Akstull scored from Harbec and Julia Palmateer. Black Bear freshman Taryn Peacock received a five-minute major plus a game misconduct for checking from behind, and the Saints rounded up the scoring on the power play, with Lisa Batchelor scoring from Harbec and Guay.
The previous day, the Black Bears had suffered a similar 5-1 defeat to the Saints, with first period goals from Guay and Akstull, both assisted by Harbec.
St. Lawrence scored two more in the first half of the second period, Crystal Connors notching her first point of the weekend and Akstull scoring her second goal of the game. Midway through the period the Black Bears got their only marker of the game, Taryn Peacock scoring from Jenna Cowan and Sonia Corriveau on the power play. The Saints finished up the scoring after 14 minutes of the third period, Connors notching a shorthanded goal with another assist for Harbec. Despite letting in five, Genevieve Turgeon made 37 saves in goal.
With the weekend’s results the Black Bears fall to 6-10-2 on the season, while the Saints improve to 14-5-1. The Black Bears return to action in January after a long winter break, with a double header at two-time defending Hockey East champion New Hampshire.
Bangor Daily News