Women’s hockey suffered two defeats this weekend at the hands of ECAC opponents Union 2-1 and Rensselaer 4-1, leaving the squad still without an ECAC victory.
But team members entered the season lacking the experience of non-Ivy ECAC teams, who have been playing since September, said co-captain Jennifer Nedow ’14, leaving the Bears (1-6-1, ECAC 0-5-1) at a competitive disadvantage. The women executed plays and created chances in both games — skating well together and working hard. While slight breakdowns prevented the chances from materializing into wins, the team’s energy and determination did not fade.
Union 2, Brown 1
Friday’s game against Union College (4-8-1, 3-3-0) pitted the two well-matched teams against each other in an exciting contest, which was only decided in the final minute. Bruno gained an early lead off a goal from Erin Conway ’17 — the newcomer’s second of the season. Conway was assisted by Sarah Robson ’15, Bruno’s leader in shots fired, including five at Union alone.
“In the Union game, we had lots of energy and jumped on the scoreboard first. It was a huge lift in confidence to do that,” wrote Head Coach Amy Bourbeau in an email to The Herald.
But the Bears would not score again, while the Dutchwomen would net two more shots against goalie Aubree Moore ’14. Moore, who has been instrumental in scoring for Brown so far, saved 15 of the 17 shots in the contest, while Union’s goalie saved 12 of 13. The Dutchwomen scored in the opening moments of the second period to tie up the game. Play continued scoreless until Union’s Maddy Norton scored with 39 seconds left in regulation, putting Union up 2-1 and sealing their victory.
“As the game went on and we were tied, I think we started to get nervous to try and get to the end,” Bourbeau said. The late goal was the result of a turnover pass, a mistake that in such a competitive and “up and down the ice” kind of game, landed the Bears with a loss, Bourbeau said. “I think we started to grip our stick a bit tight as the game went on. We started to get nervous because we didn’t want to make a mistake out there,” Bourbeau said.
Each team went on four power plays apiece, and both failed to capitalize. Union outpaced Brown in both shots taken and in face-offs won. Bruno won on 15 face-offs, while Union took 23.
RPI 4, Brown 1
While the game at Union was decided in the final minute, Saturday’s game at RPI (4-8-1, 3-3-0) put Brown down 3-0 by the end of the first period, setting the three-goal margin by which the Engineers would eventually win. In further contrast, RPI scored three of its goals off power plays — two of which were in the first period. Both Brown and RPI went on six power plays, but Bruno failed to capitalize.
“(At RPI) we spent a lot of time in the penalty box, and it cost us. We can’t win like that,” Bourbeau said.
Robson scored in the second period, bringing the margin down to two goals, 3-1. Conway and Lauren Vella ’15 provided assists, reversing the roles from Union, when Robson assisted Conway. The Engineers scored again on a power play on a holding penalty late in the second quarter to cement their lead, which would become the final score, 4-1.
Moore saved 20 shots to the Engineers’ 15, bringing Moore’s total for the weekend to 35. Bruno managed to take away more face-offs than the Engineers, with 22 to RPI’s 21, improving on one of their weaknesses from the previous day’s game. The team got key chances and pressured the puck well on offense, creating quality scoring opportunities, Bourbeau said. But the many penalties allowed the Engineers to take control of the puck and snatch the game from the Bears.
The team next plays University of Connecticut Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in non-conference action at Meehan Auditorium.
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