Isabelle Michaud had a game winning first period goal, while Reagan Wurm scored twice on Wednesday evening as Maine shutout Merrimack 4-0 in a women’s Hockey East Opening Round playoff game at Alfond Arena in Orono.
The winner by Michaud came on a beautiful backhanded assist from Ava Stevenson from the left circle, finding Michaud in the low slot who slammed it into the net at 8:56 of the first period. Gracie Hanson also picked a secondary assist. Wurm (10:21 of 1st, 19:19 of the 2nd) and Lily Fetch (9:17 of the 2nd) picked up the other Black Bear goals. All four tallies were even strength. Sophomore Kiia Lahtinen stopped 20 shots in net for her fourth shutout of the season and the sixth of her career. Hanson, Stevenson, Lila Shea, Mikayla Boarder, and Paige Fong had one assist each. Adreanna Doucette made 10 stops on 13 shots for the Warriors, while Lauren Lyons had 12 saves on 13 shots in relief in the cage. Merrimack ends their season with a record of 7-24-4. #7 seed Maine (13-18-4) will now advance to the quarterfinals as they travel to #2 seed UConn (24-8-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Storrs.
Photos courtesy of Anthony DelMonaco (UMaine Athletics)
