PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior
Grace Bonnell (Madison, Wis.) scored with 5:41 left in regulation, but the University of Massachusetts Boston tallied a pair of goals in the final 1:43 to slip past Plymouth State University, 4-2, to earn a split of a Little East Conference (LEC) women's ice hockey weekend series at Hanaway Rink on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman
Claire Deis (Calgary, Alberta) gave the Panthers a first period lead with a power play tally, but the Beacons scored twice in the middle period to carry a 2-1 lead into the third.
Bonnell stuffed the puck in at the left post late in the third to even the score, but UMass Boston went back in front with 1:43 on the clock when the puck squirted through with a pile of bodies in the crease. The visitors added an empty-net goal to seal the game 34 seconds later.
Plymouth State moves to 8-9-0 (2-8-0 LEC), while the Beacons improve to 9-6-2 (5-4-1 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 2, UMass Boston 4
- Plymouth State (8-9-0, 2-8-0 LEC)
- UMass Boston (9-6-2, 5-4-1 LEC)
How it Happened:
- UMass Boston had the first good scoring chance midway through the first period, but freshman goaltender Jorja Moore (Penticton, British Columbia) turned the shot away.
- Plymouth State cashed in on its first power play chance when Deis fired from the left circle with 2:25 left in the period to take a 1-0 lead into intermission.
- The Panthers killed off a wrap-around penalty, nearly doubling the margin on a short-handed bid by freshman Cera Luciani (Ruskin, Fla.) early in the second.
- Moore stood tall to deny the Beacons during a 2-on-1 break five minutes into the frame.
- UMass Boston squared the game at 1-1 with a wrap-around power-play goal at 11:02 of the period.
- The Beacons punched in a rebound in the final minute of the period to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.
- Moore made several stops as UMass Boston went on the power play just 30 seconds into the third to keep the deficit at one.
- Plymouth State pulled even with 5:41 left in regulation as Bonnell stuffed in a shot at the near post to tie the game at 2-2.
- The Beacons went back in front with 1:43 remaining, punching the puck through a pile in the crease, before adding an empty-net tally to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Deis potted her second goal of the year, while Bonnell's tally was her fourth.
- Junior Emily Gerrie (Littleton, Colo.) picked up her ninth assist of the season, giving her 28 career helpers – just two shy of the school record set by senior Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) last night.
- Juniors Laura Castronova (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Lilli Warnock (Bernardsville, N.J.) also tallied assists.
- Moore finished with 22 saves.
- Porrello dominated the faceoff circle, winning 13-of-17 (76.5%) draws.
- UMass Boston held a narrow 26-23 shot advantage.
- The Panthers went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Beacons were 1-for-6.
- UMass Boston won the season series, 2-1.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State hits the road for a weekend series against VTSU Castleton at Spartan Arena. The teams square off on Friday (Jan. 30) at 4 p.m. and wrap up the series Saturday (Jan. 31) at 12:30 p.m.
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