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ORONO – The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team hosted the Huskies from the University of Connecticut this weekend for a two-game series. Both games were hard fought contests, but unfortunately UConn was able to pull out the win in both games with scores of 2-1 and 3-1, respectively. With the wins, the Huskies moved to 16-10-2 overall and 11-4-1 in Hockey East play, while UMaine fell to 7-17-2 overall and 2-12-2 in conference play.
Saturday at Alfond Arena, the Huskies got on the board first, with a rebound goal scored by UConn’s Michelle Binning at the 6:31 mark in the second period. The teams traded shots throughout the game, and both teams had multiple power play opportunities, but the Black Bears weren’t able to tie it up until Sonia Corriveau found the back of the net 16:29 into the final period.
The game went into overtime, and Leslie Hurlburt ended it with a short-handed goal with just 38 seconds remaining, giving the Huskies the win. UMaine goalie Genevieve Turgeon had 21 saves in the game and 2 goals against.
Head Coach Lauren Steblen thought that her team played well throughout the series, something that impressed her because earlier in the season they had been something of a “period-to-period team.” She added that the main factor in the losses was the Huskies ability to score off the scramble and find the back of the net.
“We both had the opportunities we needed to win,” Steblen said. “The bounces just didn’t really go our way like I hoped they would.”
On Sunday the Huskies and Black Bears faced off again with UMaine looking to avenge their heartbreaking overtime loss on Saturday. Both teams had power play opportunities and a few good chances to score but had trouble capitalizing throughout the afternoon. UConn got on the board first once again in this one, scoring at the 16:06 mark in the first period with an unassisted goal by Amy Hollstein.
The Black Bears continued to play hard, and finally tied the game up at 7:24 in the second period, when Kate Sunstrum scored a power-play goal that was assisted by Kelly Law and Elyce Thomas. The Huskies took the lead again at 12:37 in the third period to go up 2-1. The Black Bears pulled goalie Turgeon with 2:22 left in the game to give them another skater, and UMaine did get several shots on goal but wasn’t able to capitalize and tie it up. The Huskies iced the game with an empty net goal by Jaclyn Hawkins at 18:53.
The latest setbacks added to a frustrating season for UMaine, which has played one of the hardest schedules in the country this year.
“We didn’t really know what to expect, coming in,” Steblen said. “We had a lot of new teams we’re playing this year, and in a lot of games it just came down to a bounce or two not going our way and the other team being able to find the back of the net.”
Steblen noted that as the season continues, the Bears hope to build on what they did well this weekend, “playing all three periods,” and said that there’s no reason not to try to win some more games. She said they will have a lot of players coming back next season, and this is a good time for them to develop some chemistry for when that time comes.
UMaine returns to action next weekend with a series at Vermont, who UMaine beat a few weeks ago at Alfond Arena.
