The No. 7 Massachusetts women’s hockey team lost to No. 6 Indiana Tech 4-0 on day one of the ACHA Women’s Division 1 tournament. This is a game that UMass (16-5) will hope to put behind them as they await to see who it will play on Thursday.
The Warriors (22-8-1) started their offensive attack early, with Sterling Nesbitt scoring on a wrap-around goal after an icing call 9:50 into the first period. With only 35 seconds remaining in the first, Megan Yakiwchuk scored off a rebound to make the score 2-0. UMass struggled early on offensively, being outshot 13-6 by Indiana Tech in the opening 20 minutes.
The second period wasn’t much better for the Minutewomen. Despite dominating puck control for most of the period, they were not able to convert any of their shots.
“We worked hard,” head coach Bill Wright said. “[We] didn’t put it in the net when we had the opportunity, couple things we need to clean up.”
UMass was called for a five-minute major body check, meaning that even if it was to allow a goal, it would remain 5-4 in favor of Indiana Tech. About two minutes into the penalty kill, the Warriors took advantage, with Izzy Pettem-Shand skating around the defense to flick one in to give Indiana Tech a three-goal lead.
For the remainder of the penalty kill, the Minutewomen did not allow another goal despite playing 4-on-5. The Warriors had three powerplays throughout the game, only capitalizing on their first at the beginning of the five-minute major.
“Our [penalty kill] was strong, they only scored once on the five-minute powerplay,” Wright said.
At the end of the second, UMass only had 11 shots on goal to the Warriors’ 25.
The Minutewomen opened the third period with vengeance. UMass applied constant pressure on Indiana Tech, making it difficult for the Warriors to leave their defensive zone. This theme continued throughout the third, as the Minutewomen more than doubled Indiana Tech’s shots on goal, outshooting them 13-6 in the period. This would all be for nothing, however, as the Warriors added another goal near the end of the third to increase their lead to four, a lead that would hold until the clock read zero.
UMass was unsuccessful on its powerplays Wednesday morning, going 0-4 on its chances.
“We had some good looks on the powerplay,” Wright said. “We need to have more poise, not moving the puck around just to move the puck around.”
“We just didn’t capitalize.”
Goaltender Mary Honan had an impressive game in net despite letting in four goals. Honan made several athletic and tough saves that otherwise could have led to a bigger loss for the Minutewomen.
“Our goaltending was strong,” Wright said.
UMass looks to avoid elimination on Thursday as it faces the loser of the matchup between No. 5 Lindenwood and No. 8 McKendree. During the regular season, UMass and the Bearcats (10-9) split their two-game series, while the Minutewomen did not face Lindenwood. Puck drop is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in St. Louis, MO.
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Jdepin101.
Shanti Furtado can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @shantifurtado.
