PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Freshman
Jacqueline Martin (Smithfield, R.I.) potted her first career goal and junior
Amelia Julian (Apple Valley, Minn.) posted another 20-plus save effort, but Johnson & Wales spoiled the Panthers'
Senior Day with a 2-1 win in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's ice hockey game at Hanaway Rink on Saturday afternoon.
Martin got the Panthers out to an early lead with her first period goal, but the Wildcats scored twice in the middle stanza to pull ahead. PSU's best chance to pull even came during an extended power play in the third period, which included a minute of 5-on-3, but the Johnson & Wales penalty kill unit was up to the challenge.
Prior to the game, Plymouth State honored its senior class during a brief on-ice ceremony;
Abigale McGee (Bozeman, Mont.),
Taylor Thomas (Prior Lake, Minn.),
Meghan Hamilton (Walpole, Mass.),
Sophie Streed (Surry, N.H.),
Addie Swanson (Eagle River, Alaska) and
Chantelle Ross (Ottawa, Ontario).
Plymouth State ends the season with a 3-19-1 mark (2-13-1 NEHC), while Johnson & Wales improves to 6-15-3 and 6-9-3 in conference play.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 1, Johnson & Wales 2
- Plymouth State (3-19-1, 2-13-1 NEHC)
- Johnson & Wales (6-15-3, 6-9-3 NEHC)
How it Happened:
- The Panthers had a pair of early chances in the opening minutes, but a wrist shot in the slot by graduate student Siri Brett (East Wenatchee, Wash.) sailed wide and a blast by Hamilton from the same spot was blocked by a JWU defender.
- Swanson skated through traffic and into the slot midway through the frame, but her backhand was kicked away by the Wildcats' goaltender.
- Plymouth State took the lead when Martin fired a slapshot from the bottom of the right circle that beat the goalie to the stick side at the 10:48 mark of the period.
- The Wildcats had a golden chance get pull even during a penalty kill in the last minute of the stanza when the puck bounced off a JWU skater to create a breakaway chance, but Julian stuffed the shot and PSU took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
- Martin nearly had her second of the afternoon when she stole the puck along the far side boards and worked a give-and-go with junior Robyn Grant (Airdrie, Alberta), but her shot rang the pipe.
- Johnson & Wales found the steel during four-on-four action just a minute later on a quick shot off a faceoff win. Julian denied the shot with her blocker and the puck the crossbar and deflected high.
- The Wildcats pulled even at the 11:59 mark of the period when a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle that made its way past a screened Julian to square the game at 1-1.
- JWU used the momentum to grab the lead with a shorthanded tally just over three minutes later, as a steal in the defensive zone led to a breakaway that the Wildcats converted.
- Junior Mia Zaniboni (Braintree, Mass.) nearly knotted the game with a minute left in the middle stanza but her slapper from the blue line drifted just over the crossbar and the Wildcats took the lead into the second intermission.
- Plymouth State had an extended power play midway through the third period, including a minute of 5-on-3, but the Wildcats penalty kill unit escaped unscathed. Freshman Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) had the best opportunity during the stretch, but her redirect hit the pipe and sat on the goal line before being swept away.
- Thomas had PSU's last chance with the extra skater with a shot from the slot but a JWU's stick deflected it high, and the Wildcats held on for the win.
By the Numbers:
- Martin's tally was the first of her career.
- Junior Carsen Moffett (Kamloops, British Columbia) and Brett picked up assists. Moffett's was her first point of the season, while Brett finished her career with six goals and 14 assists.
- Julian totaled 22 saves in the losing effort, giving her 20-plus stops in 17 of 21 games this year.
- Thomas fired a game-high ten shots.
- Johnson & Wales blocked 11 shots in the game.
- Neither team was able to convert on the power play. PSU finished 0-for-6, while the Wildcats went 0-for 3.
- JWU sweeps the season series and has won four-of-five meetings.
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