BOSTON, Mass. – The RMU women's hockey team remained within one goal of Minnesota State with five minutes remaining but surrendered two empty-net goals late, falling 6-3 in the Ice Breaker Tournament. With the loss, the Colonials drop to 3-6 overall and will face Boston University in the tournament's third-place game tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
FIRST PERIOD
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes, despite Minnesota State holding a 15-11 advantage in shots.
Alaina Giampietro led the Colonials with six shots in the period.
Both teams had one power-play opportunity in the opening frame but were unable to convert.
SECOND PERIOD
Just 45 seconds into the middle frame, the Colonials broke the scoreless tie.
Taylor Storey forced a turnover along the left side and set up
Rowyn Ringor in front of the net for the opening goal.
Rio Pierre recorded the secondary assist on the play.
Less than three minutes later, Minnesota State evened the score as Anika Stromme found the back of the net. The Mavericks struck again moments later on the power play, with Ayla Puppe giving Minnesota State its first lead of the afternoon.
Before the period ended,
Ashlyn Ham forced a turnover and sent the puck toward the crease, where
Laura Eustace was waiting in front of the net to bury the equalizer and make it 2-2.
THIRD PERIOD
Minnesota State regained control midway through the final period, as Zoe Lopez and Puppe scored 53 seconds apart to give the Mavericks a two-goal cushion.
The Colonials continued to battle, cutting the deficit to one with five minutes remaining.
Mary Snyder put the puck on net during a rush, and
Ava Vrana capitalized on the rebound to make it 4-3. The goal marked Vrana's first collegiate tally.
With time winding down, RMU pulled its goaltender to add an extra attacker. The Colonials registered four shots with the net empty but could not find the equalizer. Minnesota State sealed the 6-3 victory with two empty-net goals in the final two minutes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Minnesota State held a narrow 36-34 advantage in shots, with Giampietro leading RMU with nine.
Rio Pierre,
Ava Vrana,
Alexis Vrana and
Mary Snyder each finished with a plus-one rating. The Colonials won 34 of 66 faceoffs (51.5%), led by
Jessica MacKinnon, who won a team-high 17 draws and finished at 53.1% at the dot.
Defensively, RMU blocked 15 shots, led by four from junior defenseman
Shayne Desjardins. In net,
Maggie Hatch recorded 30 saves. On special teams, the Colonials went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the penalty kill stopped four of Minnesota State's five opportunities.
COLONIAL FIRST
Freshman
Ava Vrana, a native of Kingston, Ontario, scored her first collegiate goal against Minnesota State. Vrana has appeared in all nine games this season, recording eight shots, 18 faceoff wins and four blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Following Boston University's loss to Yale, the Colonials will face the Terriers tomorrow, October 24, at 2:00 p.m. in Boston, Mass. The third-place game will stream live on ESPN+.
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