The women's ice hockey team (2-6-2, 1-3-2 ECAC) conceded the Mayor's Cup to Providence College (11-5-1) on Friday, losing 3-2 to its city rivals in the last game of a six-game homestead. The Bears then fell 2-1 to Northeastern University (9-3-4) on Sunday as they began a grueling series of games on the road. Forward Laurie Jolin '13 was one of the highlights of the weekend, scoring all three goals for the team.
Providence College 3, Brown 2
With four minutes left to play in the first period, Brown's ever-improving offense took the lead courtesy of Jolin, who used the opportunity offered by defender Paige Pyett '12 and tri-captain forward Erica Kromm '11 to find the back of the net. Seven minutes into the second period, Bruno found itself in a penalty kill situation and goalie Katie Jamieson '13 was called on to make a number of saves against the circling Friar offense, who maintained relentless pressure. But moments after the power play ended, PC defender Jennifer Friedman fired a shot through a screen to beat Jamieson and even the score.
The Friars surged to take a 2-1 lead four minutes later when forward Kate Bacon slapped a loose puck past Jamieson at close range. Stung into action, Brown launched an immediate counterattack and equalized less than a minute later, as Jolin notched her second goal of the game, this time assisted by defender Jennifer Nedow '14. Both teams fought hard defensively, and the second period ended in a deadlock.
Both teams came out fired up for the third period, with rapid advances up the ice and precise passing as well as continued excellent defensive play. As the clock ticked down, it looked like the evenly-matched teams would continue their contest into overtime.
But with just 59 seconds on the clock, PC forward Ashley Cottrell received a clean pass from co-captain Alyse Ruff, who had just won the faceoff. Cottrell hammered the puck toward the Brown goal, only to see Jamieson block it with her pad. Jamieson was unable to cover the loose puck, which Cottrell slapped over Jamieson's outstretched leg to give PC a 3-2 lead.
Though Bruno pulled the goalie and maintained great pressure on the Friar goal in the dying moments of the match, the team was unable to find the equalizer to take the game to overtime.
"It was kind of unlucky," Kromm said of the loss. "But then, the last minute is always the most important — a lot of mistakes happened that led to that faceoff," referring to the pivotal matchup that led to the third goal.
Northeastern 2, Brown 1
Brown's first game on the road after six straight games on home ice ended in defeat against the Northeastern Huskies, though not without encouraging signs for the Bears.
A characteristically strong Brown defense ensured a scoreless first period before Rachel Llanes finally found a way past goalie Aubree Moore '14 with 12 minutes to go in the second period.
Despite Moore's strong performance, which saw her record 44 saves, the Huskies' offense proved unstoppable when Siena Falino found the back of the net early in the third period. Though Brown rallied late in the period as Jolin recorded her third goal of the weekend with two minutes to go, ultimately Bruno's desperate final assault proved insufficient to score the tying goal.
The Bears came heartbreakingly close, though, with 30 seconds left in the game. A shot by Jacquie Pierri '12 found the back of the net, but the apparent goal was negated by the officials, who ruled that Pierri's glove had knocked the puck out before crossing the goal line.
After a few disappointing losses in the last few games, Brown will look ahead to tough conference away games at Quinnipiac and Princeton next week.
"The next two games are really big for us in the league standings," Kromm said. "We will need to improve in all areas — both defense and offense need to be on the same page. We need to bring that desperation we are showing when we are down right from the minute the game starts in the first period."
