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The University of New Hampshire women’s ice hockey team faced off against Merrimack College in a playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
In the first period, neither team was able to find the back of the net, despite several scoring opportunities for New Hampshire.
Merrimack took the lead at 17:15 in the second period when Abby Poitras used her rebound to knock the puck in from the crease, scoring the game’s first goal. The Warriors then doubled their advantage with 5:54 remaining in the period as Tara Blackburn took advantage of a scoring opportunity, sending a high shot into the right side of the net. Although the Wildcats generated offensive pressure, they were unable to score a goal before the 2nd period ended.
Head Coach Hilary Witt noted that her team struggled to match the necessary pace in the game. "Honestly, we played a little nervous, it seemed like to me. I don’t think we were skating at the pace and playing at the pace that we needed to for today,” Witt said. “But overall, I think that we battled hard, we left it out there, and ultimately, we didn’t score enough goals.”
In the third period, with 1:59 left in the game, Sage Babey extended the Warriors’ lead to 3-0, scoring an empty-net goal from deep in Merrimack's defensive zone, assisted by Alex Ferguson. UNH responded in the final 33.6 seconds when Alyson Hush finished a pass from Chavonne Truter, sending the puck past the goaltender’s glove side from close range. Julia Cabral was also credited with an assist on the play.
Reflecting on her goal, Hush emphasized the team effort behind it. “I wouldn’t have done it without them, getting the puck to the net,” she said. “I was so into the game that I was like, you know what, we gotta put one in.”
Although the Wildcats fought hard, their season came to an end with a 3-1 loss. Hush remained optimistic about the team’s performance. “There are many positives to take away from this; we played a great game, tried our best, and we gave it all we got,” she said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go our way, but it doesn’t mean the effort wasn’t there, and the drive wasn’t there.”
Goaltender Sedona Blair spoke about the unpredictable nature of playoff hockey and the importance of staying focused. “It’s a one-game elimination; anyone can win it. You just have to put 100% into every shift,” Blair said. “We had to keep moving forward. That’s how these goals are going to go in during these playoff games.”
As the Wildcats look ahead to next season, Witt expressed confidence in the team’s ability to grow. “There’ll be a lot of things that we do to improve on,” she said. “We’ll take the off-season to really look at and reflect. We’ll, of course, make some changes, but at the same time, we’ll build off the things that I think we did well.”
New Hampshire concludes the season with a 15-17-3 overall record, while Merrimack advances to the quarterfinals on March 1.
