The women’s ice hockey team defeated Rensselaer and Union this weekend to secure its second and third conference wins of the season. Bruno shut out RPI 3-0 before taking down Union, the ECAC’s lowest-ranked team, 2-1.
RPI entered the weekend riding a four-game losing streak, while Union had lost seven of its last eight. All three teams have sat near the bottom of the conference throughout the season, though Union leads the ECAC in shots per game and Brown leads in saves, due to Moore’s impressive goaltending. “It was an unbelievable weekend,” said co-captain Jennifer Nedow ’14. “We finally got the fruits of our labor. … Our hard work and perseverance finally paid off.”
Brown 3, RPI 0
A scoreless first period Friday had Aubree Moore ’14 on her toes, blocking 14 shots, while Brown (4-16-5, 3-12-3 ECAC) managed just four on the opposing net. It seemed like the Engineers (10-16-3, 6-10-2) were set to control the game as they took five unanswered shots on goal within the first two minutes of the second period. But Moore successfully defended against several scoring chances, including a dangerously close shot that careened off the goalpost.
Twelve minutes into the period, RPI took a penalty, giving the Bears a man advantage. Kaitlyn Keon ’15 capitalized on the power play, knocking the puck into the net off assists from Sarah Robson ’15 and Jessica Hoyle ’14 to score her fifth goal of the season, giving Bruno the go-ahead tally. The team almost scored again with a minute to go but was denied by RPI goalie Kelly O’Brien, who plucked the puck from midair.
The third period began with a Bruno power-play carried over from the second. Five shots from four players in one minute tested the RPI defense, but Brown failed to find the back of the net. Two minutes later, neither team could convert on a four-on-four situation, and the Bears hung on to their 1-0 lead. Near the end of the period, Robson added a point when she scored on a penalty shot to give Bruno a two-goal lead. The Engineers pulled O’Brien with two minutes left but committed a penalty seconds later, negating the advantage. Maddie Woo ’17 took advantage of the situation and fired the puck into the back of an empty net to sure up the 3-0 victory.
Despite being outshot by 25, the Bears found a way to win the game. By capitalizing on two power plays and one penalty shot while relying on a solid defense, the Bears sealed their victory and earned their first shutout since December 2012.
The last time Bruno faced off against RPI, the Engineers triumphed 4-1. At the time, Head Coach Amy Bourbeau told The Herald that, while the Bears could not make up the deficit, they created good offensive scoring chances. This weekend, Brown capitalized on similar chances on its way to victory.
Brown 2, Union 1
Taking the ice Saturday, the Bears quickly fell in a hole, allowing Union (9-20-1, 4-14-0) to score early in the first period. The Dutchwomen held off Bruno for the rest of the frame until Hoyle took control of the puck with less than a minute to go, hitting a slap shot that sent the puck screaming into the back of the Union net. Entering the second period tied at one, Union came out of the locker room aggressively. Of the game’s seven penalties, six came in the second period — five to Brown’s advantage. The Bears, though, did not capitalize on any power plays. Instead, Monica Masucci ’16 claimed the puck seven minutes into the period off a blocked shot from Janice Yang ’15.5 and slipped it into the Union net, scoring the go-ahead goal for Brown, her first score of the season.
The Dutchwomen came on strong in the third, looking to regain the momentum. Despite outshooting the Bears 11-6 in the third period, Union failed to generate any offensive momentum and was forced to pull its goalie with less than two minutes to play. While Bruno could not score on the empty net as it had the day before, it resisted a ferocious Union charge and maintained the narrow lead. In the last minute of play alone, the Dutchwomen took seven unanswered shots, including a shot off the pipe, to threaten the Bears’ advantage. Brown’s defensive efforts finally cemented the victory for them, giving the team a four-point weekend and an important confidence boost. “We definitely played as more of a team this weekend, and that’s the reason we have been successful,” Nedow said.
The Bears will take on Princeton (12-9-4, 8-7-3) and Quinnipiac (17-5-8, 8-4-6) next weekend in their last away trip of the season.
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