The UNH women’s hockey team dropped two games this weekend in a split series
against Northeastern University. The Wildcats faced off against the 6th ranked
Huskies here in Durham Friday evening, then down in Boston on Saturday afternoon.
UNH felt the pressure right out of the gates Friday night. Senior goalie Kyra Smith
had a career high 40 saves, but the Huskies were too much for her to match. Despite
the spectacular performance in net, UNH dropped the game by a score of 3-0.
The ‘Cats put themselves in a tough spot as they committed five penalties. UNH
killed off all five penalties, but Smith was forced to work that much harder.
In the second period UNH was on the power play and committed a costly error. A mishandled puck in the defensive end turned into a short handed goal by Northeastern
first-year forward Alina Meuller. The goal came just 20 seconds into the second period, giving the Huskies the momentum for the rest of the contest.
14 minutes into the second,Northeastern sophomore defender Brooke Hobson
extended the lead to two when she put one past Smith at even strength.
The Wildcats put some pressure on in the second as they tallied 14 shots, but were
unable to find the back of the net.
In the third, Northeastern put the nail in the coffin. About three and half minutes into the final period of play first-year forward Chloe Aurard secured the win, putting the Huskies up by three.
On Saturday, the Wildcats traveled down to Boston looking to split the series. UNH had plenty of opportunities and even held two different leads throughout the game, but in the end they were unable to hold on.
Northeastern was able to come back, powered by a three-goal attack. UNH fell to
Northeastern by a score of 5-3, ending the weekend 0-2.
UNH had three different players put points up on the board. Junior forward Carlee Turner, sophomore defender Maddie Traux, and junior forward Meghara McManus all scored goals on the day. The Huskies got the scoring going early when they scored in the first five minutes of the game.
The Wildcats then scored two quick goals to take the lead back, but then
Northeastern was able to tie the game at two just before heading into the locker room for the first intermission. In the second period, Meghara McManus gave the Wildcats the lead again when she scored her second goal of the season, off an assist from senior captain defender Marie-Jo Pelletier.
For most of the third UNH held off the surging Huskies, but 16 minutes into the period Northeastern converted on a power play goal and tied the game. The power play sparked the Huskies and just a minute later they scored again to take the lead.
In the final two minutes of the game the ‘Cats pulled Smith to try and get an extra skater on the ice and tie the game, but with three seconds left Northeastern scored on the empty net to secure the win.
This weekend the Wildcats will head on the road again to Worcester, Massachusetts to face off against Holy Cross before starting a three-game home stand here in Durham.
