Annelise Rice scored a pair of first period goals, and Sandra Abstreiter stopped all 23 shots she faced Friday night as the #7 Providence College Friars blanked the Maine Black Bears 4-0 in women’s Hockey East play at Schneider Arena in Providence, Rhode Island.
PC (6-0-1, 6-0-1 Hockey East) dominated play in the opening period outshooting Maine 19-8. The Black Bears did have a pair of powerplays, but couldn’t crack the scoreboard. Rice would score the only goal the Friars needed shorthanded at 7:10. Rice, swooping in from behind the Black Bear goal, would find a rebound to the right of Maine goalie Loryn Porter and would bury another at 12:52 on the PC powerplay to make it 2-0. Isabelle Hardy extended the lead even further with a marker even strength at 19:07. The visitors came out with better pressure in the second and third periods, but again couldn’t solve Abstreiter as the senior netminder shut the door. Brooke Becker scored the final goal of the night at 16:48 of the third, leading PC to their fifth straight victory.
Porter made 37 saves in the Maine loss, as the Bears drop to 3-2-0, 3-2-0 HE. The loss snaps a three game unbeaten streak over PC (2-0-1 in 2019-20). The Black Bears went 0-5 on the powerplay, while the Friars were 1-4. Sara Hjalmarsson added three assists for Providence, while Becker, Bailey Burton, Hayley Lunny, and Caroline Peterson had one a piece. Game two of the weekend series is Saturday at 4 p.m.
