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In a weekend Battle of the Bears, the University of Maine women’s hockey team came back from a two-goal deficit to tie Brown University 4-4 in overtime on Friday night and held them to a scoreless draw Saturday night at the Alfond Arena.
The Black Bears sit at 7-5-4 on the season after the two ties, while Brown’s record is 2-2-5 after the weekend.
“Obviously I’m proud of the team for being able to come back and making a choice to do that, but we shouldn’t be down in the first place,” said UMaine head coach Maria Lewis after Friday night’s game.
In Friday’s game, Brown struck first, scoring a one-on-one breakaway just 41 seconds into the game. Brown’s one-goal lead did not stay for long, as UMaine was able to answer back 3 minutes later when freshman forward Tori Pasquariello netted a game-tying goal with help from junior defenseman Chloe Tinkler, who notched her fourth assist of the season.
Three minutes later, sophomore forward Brianne Kilgour lifted the Black Bears in front with a power-play goal off an assist from junior forward Brittany Dougherty — her first of the season.
Penalties drastically affected UMaine’s play with 10 minutes remaining, resulting in two straight Brown power-play goals to put them on top 3-2 heading into the second period.
After a scoreless second period and midway through the third, Brown netted what looked to be a game-clinching third straight power-play goal off a misplayed rebound following a faceoff in front of the Black Bears’ net.
However, the Black Bears failed to quit. With 8 minutes remaining in the game, Pasquariello continued her impressive run with her sixth goal of the season off an assist from freshman forward Jennifer More. It was Pasquariello’s fifth goal in the team’s past three games.
With just over 2 minutes remaining in the game, Kilgour skated behind the net and set up senior forward Danielle Ward for her seventh goal of the season. Ward strategically positioned herself in front of Bears’ goalie Aubree Moore and slapped the puck straight home to tie the teams back up a third time.
“She’s one of the toughest kids that I’ve ever coached in terms of just having a mindset of going to a battle and just playing as hard as she can,” Lewis said. “It takes a lot to rock that kid and she just has the mindset of what it takes to be a true hockey player.
UMaine outshot the Bears 31-24 and also won more faceoffs, winning 41 of 70 total.
The high penalty total was seemingly unordinary, to say the least. UMaine served a total of 22 minutes in the box on 11 calls, while Brown spent 18 minutes in the box and had nine calls — a total of 20 calls totaling 40 penalty minutes between the teams.
After Friday night’s draw, Lewis previewed what the team needed to do on Saturday night to get the win.
“We just have to play up to our level,” she said. “In terms of our speed, supporting the puck, taking care of the puck and passing well. We have to know where they are at all times and I think that’s going to be the key.”
The Black Bears were able to do that, holding Brown scoreless in the series finale, resulting in a 0-0 tie.
UMaine junior goalie Kylie Smith recorded her first career shutout, as the Black Bears had the better chances against Brown, outshooting the Bears 31-23 on Saturday.
The Black Bears also held Brown goalless on the power play — something they were unable to do Friday night, when the Bears put three goals in while on special teams.
UMaine is on a short rest before their next game on Nov. 23, when they travel to Burlington, Vt., for a matchup against the rival Catamounts of the University of Vermont at 3 p.m.
Bangor Daily News