lets cheer again for the womens team... U.S. COLLEGE HOCKEYS.....DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Defensive Player Of the Week Kathleen Hedges, Maine This weekend, the University of Maine crossed a milestone, earning its first ever Division I and ECAC win with a 3-2 decision over visiting St. Lawrence. Shining in the win was goaltender Kathleen Hedges, who stopped 41 shots and allowed just two goals for a 2.00 goals against average and a 0.954 save percentage. > ---------- > From: Zolt, Jeff > Sent: Monday, December 07, 1998 11:14 AM > To: 'The Maine Hockey Discussion List' > Subject: RE: Bears Win First League Game > > CONGRATS...TO THE MAINE WOMENS HOCKEY TEAM....GREAT JOB!!! > > ---------- > > > Black Bears win first league game > > by Dave Bailey > Maine Campus Staff > > To some, it might be just another puck. But to Maine women's hockey > coach Rick Filighera, it > was the perfect birthday gift. > Filighera celebrated his 31st birthday in style Saturday as Maine > downed St. Lawrence 3-2 at > Alfond Arena for its first conference win of the season. > "I can be real happy about this one," said Filighera, holding the > puck the way a child grasps a > piece of candy. "We are loving life right now." > Raffi Wolf tallied two goals for Maine, while Kira Misikowetz had > one, which proved to be the > difference-maker. > Penalty killing was the key to victory for the Black Bears, as Maine > shot down five St. > Lawrence power plays, including two when the Saints had two-skater > advantages. > Maine (5-5-0. 1-5-0 ECAC) also had to cope with some line shuffles. > With Alison Lorenz out > with a twisted ankle and Colleen Baude under the weather, Amy Van Vuren > was inserted into > the left wing position alongside scoring powerhouses Wolf and > Misikowetz. > And it didn't take long for the move to pay big dividends. > Just 37 seconds into the game, Van Vuren, who was to the right of > Saints goaltender Emily > Stein (19 saves), flipped the puck to a waiting Wolf in front of the > net. Wolf then banged it high > to Stein's left to put the Bears on the board. > "It was the most important goal, [being] right at the beginning," > said Wolf, who now has 13 > goals on the season to lead Maine. "We have to play with everyone. The > whole team has to get > along." > Five minutes later, Maine was put to the test when two quick > penalties put the Bears at a > two-skater disadvantage. > But with the crowd of 187 shouting "Dee-fense!" and Wolf clearing the > puck out of the Maine > zone, the Bears were able to kill the penalty. > "When [Wolf] gets a hang of the puck, it's gone," Filighera said. > "That's why she's out there." > With her defensive credentials well-established, Wolf exhibited her > offensive skills again in the > second, rebounding her own shot and stinging the puck to Stein's right > for a power-play goal. > But St. Lawrence wasn't about to lie down just yet. Midway through > the second, Nicole Kirnan > and Caroline Trudeau scored two goals for the Saints in the span of > 2:35 to knot the score. > After surving another two-woman disadvantage, Maine took the lead for > good, when > Misikowetz took a loose puck and stuck it in the net for an unassisted > goal at 3:38. > "It wasn't a spectacular goal," Misikowetz said. "It was just a > "cross the net, jam it in' goal. > Amy Van Vuren was behind the net and she worked hard to get it out > there, and I just smashed > it in." > Kathleen Hedges made 41 saves in the net for Maine, upping her record > to 3-3-0. Among the > sweet stops was a sweeping glove save off Meghan Maguire's dead-on shot > with 10:26 left in > the second, not to mention a plethora of saves in the third when Maine > was unable to get the > puck out of its zone (The Bears had only one shot in the second half of > the third). > St. Lawrence outshot Maine 43-22 overall. > "We just kept on saying we thought we were better than them," > Misikowetz said. "We thought > if we kept giving it to them that we would come out on top. No matter > what they did, we just > kept on saying, "C'mon guys, let's go.'" > Friday - Polar Opposite > Saturday's triumph helped wash out the bad taste of Friday's debacle, > as a sluggish Maine team > was corralled 3-0 by an equally sluggish St. Lawrence squad at the > Alfond the third time this > season the Black Bears have been shut out. > Filighera was in a less-than-jovial mood following a game in which > the Bears failed to take > advantage of the subpar Saints. > "We played with no enthusiasm," Filighera said. "We weren't going to > the net. " > Filighera also said that such inconsistencies can be expected from a > young team like Maine. > Maine defenseman Jessica Stachiw noted Maine's sluggishness on the > ice. > "Our energy was kind of low," Stachiw said. "We were trying to pick > it up, but I think we know > what we have to do." > St. Lawrence coach Ron Waske suggested that Maine's lack of depth was > a factor in the > Saints' victory. > "Unfortunately, the depth isn't going to be there," he said. > "[Maine's] first line is as competitive > as many of the first lines in the [ECAC], but the depth after that is a > little weak." > St. Lawrence got on the board 3:14 into the game when Suzanne Fiacco > one-timed a Nicole > Kirnan pass past Hedges. > The score was 1-0 until the third, when St. Lawrence scored two more > to blow the game open. > "The third period, we just sleptwalked through it," Filighera said. > Stacy Boudrais gave the Saints the two-goal lead, sticking the puck > to Hedges' left. > Christa Talbot capped the scoring for St. Lawrence with a powerful > slap-shot goal from just in > front of the blue line. > Hedges made 21 saves for Maine, while Caryn Ungewitter made 18 for > St. Lawrence to run > her record to 3-5-0. > >