PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore
Amelia Julian (Apple Valley, Minn.) finished three saves shy of her career high, but the University of Massachusetts Boston took advantage of a strange play in the final minute to sneak past Plymouth State University, 1-0, in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's ice hockey contest at Hanaway Rink on Tuesday evening.
The back-and-forth game remained scoreless into the final minute of the third period when the puck was stuck under a pileup in front of the PSU goal for roughly ten seconds. UMass Boston was finally able to wriggle the puck free and senior Katie Leffler (Key Largo, Fla.) slipped a shot to the top right corner with just 46 seconds left in regulation.
Plymouth State slips to 6-15-1 and 4-12-0 in the NEHC, while the fortunate Beacons improve to 11-11-0 and 10-6-0 in conference play.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 0, UMass Boston 1
- Plymouth State (6-15-1, 4-12-0 NEHC)
- UMass Boston (11-11-0, 10-6-0 NEHC)
How it Happened:
- Julian was put to the test early as she was forced to make ten saves in the opening period, including a key stop when UMB countered during a Panthers' powerplay chance.
- Both teams remained stout on defense through the first period as neither could solve the opposing goaltender.
- The Beacons kept the pressure on in the second, but Julian, aided by numerous blocked shots from senior Georgia McLellan (Kamloops, British Columbia), junior Addie Swanson (Eagle River, Alaska), sophomore Mia Zaniboni (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Brenna Smith (Medfield, Mass.), kept UMB off the scoreboard.
- Each team had breakaway chances early in the third, but the game remained scoreless into the final minute.
- The puck was stuck under a pile of players in front of the Plymouth State goal for ten seconds before trickling free to Leffler, whose shot snuck over Julian's shoulder to the top corner.
- PSU played the rest of the game with an extra attacker and kept pressure on the UMass Boston defense but was unable to score the equalizer.
By the Numbers:
- Julian finished with 39 saves, just three off her career high.
- The Panthers blocked 18 shots, led by McLellan's four. Five players blocked two each.
- Plymouth State finished 0-for-4 on the power play, which included a brief 5-on-3 in the opening period, while UMass Boston was scoreless in one chance.
- Junior Meghan Hamilton (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomore Carsen Moffett (Kamloops, British Columbia) combined for 20 of PSU's 31 faceoff wins.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State closes out the regular season with a pair of road contests this weekend, starting with a trip to Johnson & Wales University on Friday (Feb. 11). Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
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