Ida Kuoppala had two goals, including a game winner in the third period Sunday afternoon to lead the Maine Black Bears to a 3-1 win over the Vermont Catamounts in a Hockey East women’s quarterfinal playoff game played at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vermont.
Kuoppala staked Maine to a 1-0 lead at the 7:39 mark of the first period on an assist from Elise Morphy. Vermont had some great chances to tie the game, including two breakaways within seconds apart in the second period only to be turned away by Black Bear goalie Loryn Porter. The Catamounts finally broke through to make it 1-1 when Corinne McCool scored at 2:28 of the third period. Kuoppala got the game winner at 12:43 on helpers from Rachel Enzler and Celine Tedenby. Tedenby added the insurance goal on an assist from Ida Press at 18:00 to ice the victory for the #5 seed Maine.
Porter made 33 saves in the win, helping Maine improve their record to 8-8-1 and securing a spot in a semifinal game Wednesday night at #3 Providence. Blanka Skodova made 16 saves in the loss for #4 Vermont, who outshot the Bears 34-19 but finish their season with a record of 6-5-0.
