On Saturday the University of Maine women’s hockey team (12-6-3, 6-3-2) traveled to Vermont for their third consecutive game against Hockey East rival, the University of Vermont (5-12-3, 3-8-2). The Black Bears finished the game on top, scoring in every period to win the game 4-1.
The scoring started late in the first period for the Black Bears. Fourth-year forward Catherine Tufts shot the puck after fourth-year forward Brooke Stacey had three back-to-back shots on goal about a minute before the end of the period, to no avail. Both Stacey and first-year defender Anna Zikova got the assist. This was Tufts’ seventh goal on the season for her 11th point.
The Catamounts didn’t let this score go unanswered, netting a goal of their own 1:25 into the second period. Fourth-year defender Amanda Drobot passed the puck to second-year forward Eve-Audrey Picard who passed it back to fourth-year defender Taylor Willard to shoot past second-year goaltender Carly Jackson and net a powerplay goal. This was Willard’s fourth goal of the season and ninth point, putting her at third on the team.
It took the Black Bears most of the period to be able to net another goal, but with just four minutes remaining in the period Stacey netted her first goal of the game with an assist from second-year forward Tereza Vanisova and Zikova. This goal brings Stacey to nine goals on the season and 22 points.
A minute later the Black Bears scored again bringing the score up to 3-1. First-year forward Daria Tereshkina and Stacey passed the puck between themselves until Tereshkina shot, getting it in around second-year goaltender Sydney Scobee. Third-year defender Alyson Matteau got the assist with Stacey. This was Tereshkina’s third goal on the season.
The Black Bears netted one final goal of the game at the 2:59 mark in the last period as the Black Bears found themselves on a power play opportunity shortly after killing a penalty of their own. Second-year forward Lydia Murray got the puck from Matteau and Tufts to shoot a one-timer, finding the back of the net to give the Black Bears a 4-1 game-winning lead.
Both teams played aggressively on the ice with the Black Bears getting 10 penalties throughout the game, while the Catamounts racked up five of their own, allowing both teams to net powerplay goals. The two teams were pretty tightly matched for the number of shots, as the Black Bears recorded 31 shots on goal, while the Catamounts had 29.
Jackson took the win on the night over Scobee bringing her record in the net to 10-5 and her save percentage to .925. Scobee sits at 4-8 with a .921 save percentage.
The Catamounts will play one final tournament of the year when they travel to Montreal, Quebec for the Concordia Tournament on Friday Dec. 29 – Dec. 31. The Black Bears have almost a month off as their next game won’t be until the new year when they take on Boston University on the road. This game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6.
