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The University of Maine women’s hockey team finished their opening weekend in a dominating fashion as they outscored their opponent, Sacred Heart University, by a total of 13-1 over the course of two games.
UMaine is 2-0 in the young season.
The Black Bears had to pay rent for the time they spent around the net in the weekend’s games. They won 6-0 Friday night with constant pressure and excellent passing. Saturday afternoon ended similarly as they won the game 7-1 and seemed to always be in attack mode.
“It was a good weekend to get our freshman acclimated with collegiate hockey and a good way to get all the kinks out,” senior forward Dawn Sullivan said.
The first thing anybody notices about this hockey team is how they pass the puck. The Black Bears scored numerous times off one-timers and precision passing to get players into the right position to score.
The first goal of Friday night’s contest set the tone after a beautiful pass by freshman forward Jennifer More was buried top-shelf by senior forward Danielle Ward.
“I think we have a lot of team chemistry this year and we are just sort of finding people,” Sullivan said. “We are talking a lot and our communication has gone up from last year. People are getting to the right spots and we are finding them.”
The ability to get the puck to the slot and shoot from fortunate angles was a strong point for the Bears.
“I’m excited; this is just one step towards where we want to go,” Sullivan said. “We have a lot of potential and this is nothing compared to what we can do.”
The most telling statistic was shots on goal. On Friday night UMaine finished with 63 total shots to Sacred Heart’s 14. Overall, UMaine attempted 87 shots, giving them multiple chances to score, and they did just that.
Ward tallied a goal and an assist; freshman forward Katy Massey added a goal; senior defender Melissa Gagnon had a goal and an assist; sophomore forward Missy Denk had two goals in the second period; and senior forward Myriam Croussette added a goal and two assists.
Saturday was déjà vu. UMaine outshot the Knights 72-10. The Black Bears got off to a quick start, walking into the locker room after the first period with a 4-0 lead. UMaine’s second goal was a head turner as Ward stole the puck at the blue line, splitting two defenders with nifty stick handling before burying the puck in the upper right top shelf, taking the wind out of Sacred Heart’s sails before the first period was over.
Crousette had two goals, Ward one, Sullivan one, More two, and senior forward Dominique Goutsis one in the third period.
The Black Bears have a weekend off before they hit the road to take on Quinnipiac University in a two-game series in Connecticut. The first game is scheduled for Oct. 7. The finale is the following day at 1 p.m.
Bangor Daily News