The Maine Black Bears women’s ice hockey team got goals from Ida Kuoppala and Tereza Vanisova and also 27 saves from goaltender Carly Jackson Saturday afternoon, as they completed a Hockey East quarterfinal series upset with a 2-1 win over Boston University at Agannis Arena. Maine wins the best of three series 2-0. The Bears entered the tournament as the #7 seed against the #2 and #8 in country Terriers.
Just like in the win Friday night, Maine got goals in the first and second period for a 2-0 lead. Kuoppala scored at 15:41 of the opening period on the powerplay, and then Vanisova padded the lead at 18:12 of the second. The Bears were under fire by BU in the third period, as the Terriers had 14 shots on goal. Julia Nearis got the home team within a goal when she scored at 14:02. BU pulled goalie Corinne Schroeder with a minute to play but couldn’t come up with the equalizer. The Terriers season won’t end however, as they are basically a shoe in still for an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Their overall record falls to 24-8-4.
Ali Beltz had an assist and Ida Press had two for 15-13-8 Maine in the win. Schroeder made 32 saves for Boston University in the loss. The Black Bears went 1-3 on the powerplay, while the Terriers went 0-1. Maine advances to a Saturday semifinal to be played at Lawler Arena at Merrimack College next weekend. Their opponent is TBA as the league will re-seed the teams after quarterfinals are over this weekend.
