BOSTON, Mass.  –  UMass Boston Women's Ice Hockey scored two first period goals against Connecticut College senior goalie Abby Wieczorek, who came into the game having only allowed one goal in her first three game of the season, but three second period goals from the 16^th-nationally ranked Camels helped them down the Beacons, 6-4, on Tuesday night at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.  

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 4, Connecticut College 6

UMass Boston (5-6-0)

#16 Connecticut College (5-1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Less than a minute after the puck hit the ice, UMass Boston was off and running to take a 1-0 lead after a deflected puck found the stick of freshman forward Kristen Briggs in a two-on-one situation in the offensive end. Briggs found fellow freshman forward Emily Hansen with a pass on the left side of the net and Hansen's shot tipped off the pad of Wieczorek before finding the back of the net.

Six minutes later, Connecticut College would even the score up as senior forward Melanie Conca hit sophomore defender Kate Hagness with a pass at the blue line. Hagness would push the puck over to sophomore defender Kylie Smith on the left side who fired a shot into traffic and past freshman goalie Leah Bosch.

But the Beacon offense would continue to find opportunities on the offensive end and the first collegiate goal by freshman forward Isabella Henningsson-Brown after senior forward Emily Franciszkowicz threw the puck in front. On the ensuing scramble in front of Wieczorek, Henningsson-Brown would locate the puck which would trickle by the left pad of the goalie to give UMass Boston the lead again, 2-1, with just over eight minutes left in the opening period.

Some early breakaway chances for the Beacons would be turned away by Wieczorak to help keep Connecticut College within one goal. The Camel offense would come to life halfway through the second period starting with a deflection by freshman forward Serena Seiple on the shot by Conca to tie the game up at two.

In the final three minutes of the period, Connecticut College would add two more goals to the scoreboard starting with a pass from senior forward Morgan Bronstein behind the net. Sophomore forward Claire Sammons fired a wrist shot from the left circle, beating Bosch on the right side to give the Camels their first lead, 3-2. With less than 30 seconds left in the period, junior defender Abby Munger pushed a puck by Bosch after senior forward Kelly Matthews located her on the right side to give Connecticut College a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

Despite only having 11 shots on goal through two periods, the Beacons would have the opportunity to get back into the game in the third period. After freshman forward Sydney Leonard's blocked shot popped out to sophomore defender Gabby Shontz at the blue line, Shontz passed to freshman defender Emma Webster whose shot found its way past Wieczorek to cut the UMass Boston deficit to one, 4-3.

The Connecticut College attack would regain their two-goal advantage after a power play goal by Seiple on passes from Conca and Matthews made it 5-3. With the goalie pulled for UMass Boston while on a power play, sophomore forward Ana Gustafson took passes from Henningsson-Brown and freshman forward Adriana Crepaldi to bring the Beacons within one with 2:15 remaining in regulation.

However, an empty net goal from Munger with 40 seconds left would seal the deal for Connecticut College as they downed UMass Boston, 6-4.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Leah Bosch made 21 saves on 25 shot attempts for the Beacons before Victoria Kennedy came into the game and made 5 saves in net
• Abby Wieczorek recorded 20 saves on 24 shots for the Camels, earning her fourth win of the season
• UMass Boston recorded 10 blocked shots in the contest
• This is the third consecutive loss for UMass Boston in the all-time series against Connecticut College, their last win came during the 2018-19 season on the road

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons close out their first half schedule before the 21-day winter break against nationally ranked and defending NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Champion Middlebury College on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM. The Panthers are currently ranked ninth in the DCU/USCHO Division III Women's Poll after dropping three consecutive games to UW-River Falls and twice to Amherst College, both nationally ranked teams.