The University of Vermont’s season has officially come to a close, as the Catamounts, on Sunday night, suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Maine Black Bears. Vermont was without goaltender Jessie McPherson, who was out with a lower-body injury. When talking about the loss, head coach Jim Plumer said, “First of all, Hats off to Maine, gritty performance, goalie was great as we expected, nothing short of devastating and it took us a period to get into things.”
Upset At The Gut
UVM came out of the gates and played their game, spending the first few minutes in the offensive zone and keeping the Black Bears on their toes early on. Maine held off Vermont long enough to strike first, as Ida Kuoppala would sneak by Blanka Skodova, this allowing the Black Bears to go up 1-0. However, from that point forward, it was all UVM.
Vermont dominated the second period, outshooting the Black Bears 11-4. The Catamounts saw multiple breakaways, however, all stopped by Senior backstop Loryn Porter. The momentum from the second period would carry on into the final frame, as the Catamounts would quickly tie the game on a one-timer scored by forward Corinne McCool. From there, Vermont continued this momentum until Ida Kuoppala came fighting back with a wicked wrist shot, once again beating Skodva.
This would give the Black Bears a 2-1 lead, their second lead of the game. The winger’s second goal of the game would be the turning point the Black Bears needed, as that would put a halt on momentum from the Catamounts. With two minutes left on the clock, forward Celine Tedenby would net the insurance goal to extinguish Vermont from getting back in the game.
With that, the Maine Black Bears move forward to the league’s semifinals in the hunt for a championship.