Headed into the final three minutes of playtime, UMass was down 3-1 after Michigan scored twice in the third period. However, with an extra woman on the ice, the Minutewomen leveled the score with 44 seconds left.
Hannah Gromko tied the game in the dying embers of the third period. Receiving the puck from Ivorie Arguin, she circled around to face Wolverine goaltender Avery Schiff and placed the puck underneath the traffic in front of the net.
“[Scoring] was such a good feeling,” Gromko said. “The support of the team was there. I think the energy was there and I think that was just a big contributor. We never stopped having our energy and I just think that was the biggest contributor to [the goal].”
Earlier that period, UMass got one step closer to tying the game when Riley Evans scored her first collegiate goal. With just over three minutes remaining, she made the score 3-2.
The Minutewomen had a power play after Michigan’s Maddie Farris was penalized for cross-checking. After a timeout called by head coach Bill Wright, UMass had an extra woman on the ice. Evans shot the puck into traffic in front of Schiff’s net and found the back of it.
“To come from behind twice, down two goals both games to tie it up against [the] number four team in the country, that’s huge,” Wright said.
The Wolverines seemingly secured their victory in the third period with about nine minutes remaining when Lucy Hanson scored her second goal of the contest. Her earlier goal scored with just under 15 minutes left in the second period, leveled the scoring for the first time in the game.
The Minutewomen got an early lead on Michigan with three minutes left in the first period when Joanna Dustin found the back of the net. Scoring her fifth goal of the season, Dustin shot from back by the blue line underneath Schiff.
UMass capitalized off three of the five power plays they had, scoring each of its goals from them.
With seven total penalties handed out, the Saturday morning contest did not lack physicality. Minutewomen Charlotte Manganaro served the two they received for interfering and hooking. The Wolverines served five penalties, three of which were in the third period of play when UMass tied the game.
“We stress that we… can’t win if we’re in the box,” Wright said. “We have to play, we can’t play a man down. Nobody can and be effective. So it’s a matter of just being on with our game plan and discipline in not letting other teams get under our skin.”
The Minutewomen will be home again next weekend to host Liberty University. The first game is scheduled for Nov. 15 at the Mullins Center Community Rink. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:20 p.m.
“It’s been a few years since we beat Liberty… and it’s going to be another good test but another good opportunity at the same time,” Wright said. “Again another highly ranked team for us to make some more headway and gain some more confidence.”
Emma Bensley can be reached at [email protected].
