University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
9-21-3, 6-13-2
Northeastern University
12-15-5, 11-8-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northeastern | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Women's Hockey's Third Period Rally Falls Short In 3-1 Loss at Northeastern
2/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
BOSTON – Margo Lund (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a third-period goal to lift the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team within 2-1, but the Wildcats' comeback fell short in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Northeastern University at Matthews Arena.
UNH, which tallied a 35-26 shot advantage, ends the regular season with a 9-21-3 overall record and is the No. 6 seed of the Hockey East Championships by virtue of a 6-13-2 league record. The Wildcats face off against NU (12-15-5, 11-8-2) in next weekend's best-of-three quarterfinal series that begins Feb. 27 (7 p.m.). Saturday and Sunday, if necessary, both begin at 2 p.m.
The Huskies swept the regular-season series by scores of 2-0 and 5-1 at the Whittemore Center in addition to Sunday's win.
UNH goaltender Ashley Wilkes (North Pole, Alaska) made 11 of her 23 saves in the first period. NU counterpart Chloe Desjardins stopped 14 shots in the second period and 15 in the third as part of a 34-save effort.
Kendall Coyne factored in all three NU goals with two goals, including the empty-netter with 18 seconds remaining in regulation that secured the win, and an assist.
The teams skated to a scoreless first period in which NU recorded an 11-5 shot advantage. The first stoppage of play came at 4:09 when Wilkes covered a shot by Shelby Herrington. At that point, the Huskies had a 4-0 edge in shots.
Four minutes later, Coyne intercepted a pass in the inner-right circle and wristed a shot that Wilkes deflected aside with her blocker.
In the 10th minute, Kayla Mork (Victoria, Minn.) corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone and sent a pass to open space on the right wing. Jonna Curtis (Elk River, Minn.) skated onto the puck and, for the second time in the opening period, sent a shot wide of the cage from the right faceoff dot.
The Wildcats recorded their first shot on goal at 9:55 when Hannah Armstrong (Keswick, Ontario) was denied at the right doorstep. Cassandra Vilgrain (Calgary, Alberta) collected the rebound on the right side and shoveled a backhander wide of the near post.
UNH went on its first power play of the game at 12:16 of the opening stanza and generated pressure in the last 30 seconds when Haley Breedlove (Plano, Texas) blasted a slap shot through traffic that was stopped by Desjardins. The rebound went around the boards to Jess Ryan (Cloquet, Minn.) at the right point and Desjardins also stopped that slapper.
With 3:15 remaining in the first period, Nicoline Jensen (Rodovre, Denmark) corralled a loose puck in the slot, shifted to the right and fired a shot wide right.
The 'Cats generated a 14-9 shot advantage in the second period but NU netted goals 41 seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes. In the third minute, Armstrong's shot from a scrum in front of a net was fended off by Desjardins. On minute later, Curtis won a faceoff in the left circle to the slot and Jensen's shot was sticked aside by Desjardins.
In the seventh minute, Kate Haslett (Rothesay, New Brunswick) let a shot fly from the left point that deflected off Desjardins and trickled wide of the left post. NU went on a power play at 8:44 but the 'Cats recorded a 2-0 shot advantage the next two minutes, and that included Vilgrain's rush down the right wing in which she advanced to the low slot before being stopped by Desjardins.
Northeastern took a 1-0 lead at 12:04. From low on the left wing, Denisa Krizova fed a centering pass back to Coyne, who snapped a shot high inside the right side of the net. The Huskies extended the advantage to 2-0 at 12:45 when Melissa Haganey's shot deflected off Wilkes and continued slowly over the goal line.
With four minutes left in the second stanza, Sarah Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.) fired a screened shot from the left point that Desjardins smothered. Off the ensuing faceoff, Curtis once again drew the puck to the slot and once again Jensen's shot was steered aside by the NU goalie.
The 'Cats came out strong to start the third period. In the second minute, Amy Boucher (Edmonton, Alberta) stole the puck in the neutral zone and her rising hard shot was snared by Desjardins' glove.
One minute later at the other end of the ice, Wilkes' also made a solid glove save to deny Herrington's bid from the left circle. Coyne nearly extended the advantage to three goals at 7:40, but her shot from the right faceoff dot ricocheted off the crossbar.
New Hampshire pulled within 2-1 less than one minute later on Lund's goal at 8:28. Curtis initiated the scoring sequence with a pass from the left circle to Amy Schlagel (Blaine, Minn.) in the high slot. Schlagel quickly slipped a pass down the slot collected by Lund, who snapped a shot inside the right post.
The Wildcats continued to generate scoring chances and midway through the period, Schlagel's low drive from the top of the left circle sailed wide of the far post. Moments later, Boucher charged through defenders down the slot before being denied twice at the right doorstep by Desjardins. Boucher corralled that rebound too and fed the puck in front, where Armstrong quickly shoveled a shot wide right of the cage.
With just over six minutes to play, Heather Kashman (Edmonton, Alberta) ripped a one-timer from the slot that Desjardins got a piece of. Then with 3:30 on the clock, Boucher led a 3-on-2 rush into the right circle and blasted a shot wide of the near post. Seconds later, Breedlove's slap shot from the high slot was knocked down by Desjardins and NU's Ann Doherty cleared the puck out of the crease. UNH continued to pressure and Armstrong's recirection from the low slot went over the crossbar.
Wilkes was pulled in favor of an extra skater with 97 seconds remaining. One minute later, Schlagel's hard diagonal pass from the left point was tipped just wide right by Armstrong.
Hayley Masters took aim at the empty net from the neutral zone but hit the right post. The Wildcats advanced the puck to the neutral zone, but Coyne gained possession and shot into the open cage from close range at 19:42.
