The women's ice hockey team added a win and a loss to their middling record this weekend, but Head Coach Digit Murphy sees brighter days ahead. The Bears' game against powerhouse Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., Friday resulted in a 6-3 defeat, but they bounced back the next day against the University of Vermont, controlling the play and winning 1-0. The split leaves the Bears 11-10-2 overall and 8-7-1 in the ECACHL.
"I'm very encouraged," said Murphy. "I saw flashes of brilliance. I saw that Brown hockey was back for (the first period of the Dartmouth game)."
The game started off well for the Bears, who were up 2-0 after 20 minutes with goals by Hayley Moore '08 and Kathryn Moos '07. But the momentum shifted 13 seconds into the second period, when the powerful Big Green squad scored the first of three consecutive goals.
"We had a lapse in the second period," said Moore. "There were a lot of penalties called (on us) and that threw off our game."
"We went back to our old habits," Murphy said. "We didn't put the puck in safe places, we made some bad decisions, we didn't take the body."
Dartmouth added another goal early in the third period to pad their lead to two. Moore gave Bruno a goal on a power play that brought them within one with six minutes left, but Dartmouth immediately countered, then scored a last-minute empty-netter to seal the 6-3 victory.
The score did not reflect Brown's defense during the game. Bears goalie Stacy Silverman '08 made an impressive 43 saves and the team killed off six of seven penalties.
The stellar Big Green offense was led by Tiffany Hagge, who scored a hat trick. Katie Weatherston had a goal and Cherie Piper had two assists - the two juniors lead Dartmouth in goals and points, respectively.
After a loss to Harvard on Saturday, Dartmouth has dropped down to third in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll. Brown and the Big Green will meet again this season Feb. 26.
Bruno came back strong against Vermont on Saturday. Amy McLaughlin '05 scored the only goal on a power play in the second period. Moos and Jessica Link '05 assisted on the score.
"We dominated the Vermont game," Murphy said. "We were in their end the whole time and we outshot them by a lot."
Brown's goaltending duo of Marie-Pier Desbiens '07 and O'Hara Shipe '08 made 11 saves between them, while Vermont star Kami Cote made 36.
Murphy was pleased with the results of the weekend. "I'm very encouraged," she said. "We're starting to get it. (The first period of the Dartmouth game) was pretty much flawless hockey. Now that I've seen it, I'm going to expect it for the rest of the season."
With the return of Krissy McManus '05, this weekend was the first time since the season began that the Bears have had their entire complement of players healthy. As was evident against Vermont, now that stalwarts such as McManus and Margaret Ramsay '06 have returned from injuries, Bruno may have more success executing the defensive game plan that Murphy has preached throughout the season.
"If we're patient with our plan, we'll persevere," Murphy said.
The Bears are back at Meehan Auditorium this weekend for a doubleheader against Mercyhurst College. The games are at 7 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
