Orono, Maine - The University of Maine fell to the Union College Dutchwomen by a score of 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Alfond Arena. With the loss, the Black Bears fall to 2-14-1 on the season while the Dutchwomen improve to 5-9-3 on the season.
The first two periods of play went scoreless as the Black Bears held an 18 to 12 shot advantage over the Dutchwomen. Union College went 0 for 3 on the power play opportunity in the first two periods while the Black Bears went 0 for 0.
Christine Valente wasted little time in the third period, as she was able to place a shot off the inside pad of the Black Bear goalie for the 1-0 lead at :37 seconds into the period. Valente's goal was unassisted as she scored from the bottom of the right circle. Nicole Bartlett pushed the lead to 2-0 at 8:56 off the Alex Tancrell-Fontaine and Rebecca Babiak assist. Bartlett squeezed the puck through the five hole off the Tancrell-Fontaine shot from the top of the left circle.
Brittany Dougherty (Chesterfield, Michigan) got the Black Bears on the board at 12:26 of the third period off the Tori Pasquariello (Mississauga, Ontario) assist. Dougherty was able to beat the keeper with the extra skater advantage for her seventh goal of the season with Pasquariello picking up her second assist.
Kelly McGrath notched the third Union goal at 13:55 to push the lead to 3-1. Courtney Turner picked up the assist on the even scoring opportunity.
The Black Bears would once again pull the goalie in an effort to cut the deficit. Maine was skating 6 on 4 due to a Union penalty. Dougherty took full advantage of the opportunity as she found the back of the net at 18:39 for her second goal of the game and eighth of the season. Chloe Tinkler (Wabush, Newfoundland) notched her third assist of the season while freshmen Audra Richards (Maplewood, Minnesota) tallied her fourth.
Meghann Treacy (Lake Peekskill, New York) got the start for the Black Bears between the pipes as she allowed two goals while saving 12 in 48:56 minutes of play. Treacy sees her record fall to 0-5-0 on the season. Brittany Ott (St. Clair Shores, Michigan) played in 7:40 minutes, allowing one goal on the afternoon.
Shenae Lundberg allowed two goals while saving 30 shots for the Dutchwomen. Lundberg sees her record improve to 4-6-3 on the season.
Maine returns to action on January 5 and 6 as it travels to Brown for a two game series. Game times are slated for 2:00 PM for both contests. The Black Bears return home on January 12 and 13 as they face-off against Boston University for a two game series. Puck is slated to drop at 3:00 PM for both games.