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The University of Maine women’s hockey team found no luck in their two-game series against conference foe Boston College last weekend at Alfond Arena, losing a 4-3 overtime thriller to the No. 4 Eagles on Saturday night and a 1-0 battle on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore defenseman Kelly McDonald scored twice for the Black Bears on Saturday and junior goalie Brittany Ott followed up with a season-best save total of 46 on Sunday — she was awarded with the game’s second star despite the outcome. She also stopped 35 shots in Saturday’s game.
“What [Ott] showed is obviously what she’s very capable of doing. I thought she was spectacular,” said head coach Maria Lewis. “Throughout the season we haven’t quite seen her play up to that level yet. I’m hoping it’s the start to a real good run for her, especially in the second half with all of our Hockey East games.”
With the two losses, UMaine now stands at 9-7-4 overall and drops below .500 in Hockey East play, sitting at 4-5-1.
“BC may have had more shots over the 120 minutes, but I think we had some amazing opportunities against them,” Lewis said. “We can skate with them and that’s the No. 4 team in the country. We must realize what we’re capable of.”
In Saturday’s game, the Black Bears conceded an early goal from BC sophomore defenseman Jackie Young just over a minute into play. UMaine responded 17 minutes later during a power play after McDonald netted her first career goal.
She struck again 2 minutes later, adding her second of the game while also putting UMaine ahead 2-1. Senior forward Danielle Ward assisted both goals for her ninth and 10th assists of the year. Senior defenseman Melissa Gagnon also notched an assist on McDonald’s first goal.
Thirteen minutes of scoreless play followed in the second period until BC evened it up with a goal from freshman forward Alex Carpenter. The Eagles would take the lead early in the third period after 3 minutes of play.
With less than 3 minutes remaining in the game, Black Bears junior forward Brittany Dougherty added her team-leading 11th goal of the season, going five-hole to put the game’s fourth tie on the scoreboard. Freshman forward Jennifer More tallied her sixth assist of the season on Dougherty’s third-period goal.
The game entered overtime with both teams standing at three goals apiece, but Eagles sophomore forward Melissa Bizzari found the net for a heartbreaking game-winner 3 minutes into the extra period.
In Sunday’s game, both teams played for 58 scoreless minutes before the Eagles scored their second straight game-winning goal in a 4-on-4 situation when junior defenseman Blake Bolden found the open net.
Much of the game involved defensive strategy on both sides, and nearing the end of play in the third period, leading up to the game-winning BC goal, three hitting-after-the-whistle penalties were called after things got heated. The Eagles outshot UMaine 47-18.
The Black Bears will travel over 400 miles to Schenectady, N.Y., this weekend to take on the Dutchwomen of Union College. The two games will be played on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.
“Union has been giving some pretty good teams a fit, regardless of what their record is,” Lewis said. “I think Union is going to be a tough opponent. For some reason, we tend to match up better with the tougher teams, but good teams find a way to win or give themselves a chance against all of their opponents.”
