The women’s hockey team came away with a 1-1 record on the weekend after a pair of road tilts against RIT. Bruno dropped the first game Friday night 5-1 but responded with a 2-1 victory Saturday.
Brown (2-7-0, 0-4-0 ECAC) fell behind seven minutes into the first contest thanks to a goal from RIT’s Logan Land.
The team has struggled at times this season when falling behind in shots on goal, and Friday’s game was more of the same for Bruno. Goaltender Monica Elvin ’17 stopped the remainder of the 12 shots she faced in the opening frame. Offensively, the Bears managed only three shots in the first period.
Land struck again for the Tigers (4-12-0, 0-6-0) on the power play 7:31 into the second period. RIT added another with less than two minutes left to take a three-goal cushion into the final 20 minutes.
The lone highlight for Bruno came six minutes into the third following an early-period score from RIT’s Reagan Rust on the power play. The Tigers were called for slashing, giving Brown a power play chance of its own. Leah Olson ’19 scored in the final seconds of the two-minute advantage for her first collegiate goal. Olson was set up by Kelly Micholson ’16 and Samantha Swanstrom ’18 on the play.
RIT brought the score to 5-1 with a goal from Carly Payerl minutes later. Elvin recorded 31 saves, marking her third start with 30 or more saves this season.
Sam Donovan ’18 said the team looked at the film of the game before Saturday’s contest to identify areas of weakness.
“We knew we needed to work harder and win our battles,” Donovan said. “We weren’t really doing that the first game.”
But RIT jumped out to another quick start, grabbing an early lead 4:54 into the first period on the power play once again.
The Bears locked the Tigers down from there, as the early goal proved to be the only blemish for goaltender Julianne Landry ’18.
The score held at 1-0 until late in the second period. RIT’s Kendall Cornine was sent to the box for hooking with less than five minutes remaining. Just 23 seconds into the power play, Maddie Woo ’17 put the Bears on the board with her first goal of the season. The assist came from Olson.
The teams remained deadlocked deep into the third period. Landry was rock-solid for Brown, making 13 of her 22 saves in the final period.
Finally, after an RIT penalty for body checking, the Bears broke the tie with the man advantage. Olson wrapped up a three-point weekend, striking quickly just 10 seconds into the power play.
Bridget Carey ’19 and Woo, who has recorded five points in the team’s last three games, picked up the assists. Landry and the Brown defense held off the Tigers for the remaining three minutes to finish the comeback effort.
After being held without a power play goal for six games, Bruno has found its stride, scoring four in its past three games.
Donovan credited Olson and Woo for the team’s recent success.
Olson “was taking really good shots — she has really good vision,” Donovan said, adding that Woo “has been getting her shots to the net.”
Brown will continue its stretch of road games next weekend, though it will not travel far to face off with Providence Saturday. The 21st Annual Mayor’s Cup is on the line, and the Bears will look to maintain bragging rights after a 2-1 victory over the Friars last season. Brown leads the all-time series 10-7-3.
The Friars are “definitely a big rival being just down the street,” Donovan said. “They will not be taken lightly.”
