Jacobs scores lone goal for Panthers

            BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts Boston women's hockey team scored a pair of third-period goals Saturday afternoon to down Plymouth State University, 3-1, in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) game at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.

            Freshman Kailey Jacobs (Westwood, Mass.) scored the only goal of the game for PSU, a power play marker at 3:40 of the second period to tie the score at 1-1, but that turned out to be the extend of the Panther offense. PSU falls for 8-13-2 overall and 4-10-1 in the NEHC.

            Senior Kristen Embrey (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) broke the 1-1 tie for UMB 51 seconds into the third and Alli Bianchini (Sterling Heights, Mich.) tacked on an empty-net goal to secure the conference victory. The Beacons improved to 16-7 overall, setting a program record for regular season wins in a season, and moving to 10-5 in the NEHC.

THE BASICS

New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's ice hockey

at Edward T. Barry Rink, Boston, Mass. – Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017

UMass Boston 3, Plymouth State 1

Records:

PSU 8-13-2 (4-10-1 NEHC); UMB 16-7-0 (10-5-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

* Rachel Myette (Duxbury, Mass.) picked up her third-straight win for UMB, making 26 saves on 27 shots. Junior Mariah Trupp (Topeka, Kansas) suffered the loss at the other end, making 32 saves on 34 shots.

* Sophomore Emily Harris (Littleton, Colo.) opened the scoring for UMass Boston, giving the home team a 1-0 lead at 9:10 of the first period. Katie Jeter (Winthrop, Mass.) passed the puck ahead for Kaleigh Beauregard (Gaylord, Mich.) who fed a speeding Harris down the left wing. Harris gained the zone and sent a hard wrister just under the bar glove-side

* Plymouth State took advantage of the Beacons' first penalty just 3:40 into the second. Senior Haley Branovan (Canandaigua, N.Y.) sent a shot from the point that Jacobs redirected past Myette for a 1-1 tie. It was Jacobs' sixth goal of the season, and was assisted by Branovan and junior Courtney Evans (Fairbanks, Alaska).

* Embrey turned the tide 51 seconds into the third, when she brought the puck from behind the goal to the low slot, and blasted a shot just under the bar glove side for a 2-1 lead. Freshman Julia Nolan (Duxbury, Mass.) tacked on an assist on the play.

* Plymouth State began pressing with five minutes to go in the third and pulled Trupp with 1:40 to play. Bianchini put the game out of reach when her shot from inside the red line split a pair of defenders and trickled in for her second goal of the weekend.

NEXT GAME

* PSU wraps up the regular season next weekend with a pair of NEHC games, Friday at the University of New England (7:00 p.m.) and Saturday on Senior Day at Hanaway Rink against Norwich University (2:00 p.m.)

* UMass Boston will go for its fourth-straight win Friday night when the Beacons travel to Nichols College for a 4:40 p.m. start.  

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