The University of Maine women’s hockey team will attempt to do something Wednesday night that it hasn’t done since becoming a varsity program. That is winning a Hockey East semifinal playoff game. The Black Bears will visit Providence for a 7 p.m. faceoff at Schneider Arena in a game that can be seen live on NESN. Maine has been in this spot five times prior, but haven’t advanced past the semis.
Maine (8-8-1) finished in fifth place in the league despite the struggles all teams have faced during the pandemic. They are led by Ida Kuoppala, who has 10 goals and five assists, and provided two goals including the game winner in the Bears 3-1 quarterfinal win over Vermont last Sunday. They also have one of the top goaltenders in Hockey East and the nation in senior Loryn Porter, who has only allowed 26 goals starting all 17 games with a 1.52 goals against, a .954 save percentage, and one shutout. Porter is up for the National Goalie of the Year Award, and her goals against average ranks ninth in the country. Providence is 11-6-1 and led by Sara Hjalmarsson who has five goals and 12 assists. Sandra Abstreiter has also started in all PC games and has a 2.00 GAA, a .925 save percentage, and three shutouts. The two teams split their two regular season meetings, with the Friars taking the first one 4-0 and the Black Bears taking game two 2-1. Northeastern will face off with UConn in the other semifinal, with the two winners meeting for a trip to the NCAA Tournament in the Hockey East Championship game on Saturday.
