Carissa Rego handles the puck in their weekend series against UMass. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
The University of Rhode Island Women’s Ice Hockey team was swept by UMass Amherst this past weekend at Boss Ice Arena.
The first game was a tough night for Rhode Island, as they lost 8-1 to the Minutewomen. UMass started the night off with a quick score within the first 30 seconds of the first period by forward Katerina Nikolopoulos, putting them up 1-0. However, the Rams didn’t let it shake them as freshman forward Seren Batacchi tied the game only 27 seconds later.
Unfortunately, the game soon got worse as UMass tacked on three more goals to close out the first period, leading 4-1 at the first intermission.
Rhode Island did not do themselves any favors, committing three of their five penalties in the second period alone. Only one of these opportunities for the Minutewomen resulted in a goal, but it made URI’s attempt at a comeback that much harder. Nikolopoulos was the goal scorer on the lone power play goal for UMass, but Regan Paterson extended the lead to 6-1 after two periods.
Amelia Lambert took over as goaltender for URI heading into the third period, replacing Janelle Kelleher. The change did not stop UMass from scoring two more goals, bringing an already out of reach game to a close.
Game two for Rhode Island played out better than game one, as the score reflected better play after a lackluster performance the night before.
The first period showed a complete turnaround as the game remained tied at 0-0 going into the second period. There was an opportunity for the Rams to score on a power play after UMass committed a goalie interference penalty, but they were not able to take advantage.
It wasn’t until the second period that a Nikolopoulos goal was scored, putting UMass ahead 1-0.
There were chances for Rhode Island to tie the game, but a goal by forward Brianna O’Neill midway through the period made a potential comeback that much more difficult.
URI ultimately lost the game 2-0, but had a better performance to finish the series. Kelleher had an impressive game, saving 34 of 36 shots taken by the Minutewomen.
“I liked our resiliency, first and foremost, the [first] game was not quite what we wanted, but to come back today and play a really close game, with a couple bounces here or there maybe it’s a different result, I was pretty proud of that,” Rhode Island Women’s Ice Hockey Coach Ray Boudiette said after the second game. “We’re in a little bit of a slump scoring goals, but I think it’s gonna come. We have a lot of skilled players, not too worried about that side. Sometimes you go through a couple game stretch where you can’t score goals, and that happens.”
Kelleher was also pleased with the way her team was able to rebound after a disappointing performance in the first game.
“We had to really work hard and compete for the whole 60 minutes, not just have short spurts of working hard. We knew we had to battle throughout the game,” Kelleher said. “As a team, I think we played collectively and together, really worked hard to battle out a 2-0 game.”
The team hits the road to take on Rivier University this Friday at 7 p.m. in New Hampshire. It will be their last game before they break until the start of the new year.