Women's Hockey Sinks the Beacons

"I love playing in games like that!" exclaimed Junior Forward (and former :10 Seconds player) Kelsey Cosby (Walpole, MA). This game was one for the ages for the Lady Panthers, as they defeated the Beacons of UMass Boston on Friday Night (2/14) 4-3. The win ties the most amount of wins that the Women's Hockey team has won, with one more game left in their regular season.

This game, which, in my opinion, was the second best team effort I have personally seen all season (behind the Women's Soccer team defeating Salem State back in October), and was played with a lot of emotion for the Lady Panthers. Out of the game in the first period, PSU had a lot of pressure on the UM-B goalie, and had great fore-check to start the game. Despite the strong offensive effort, the score remained 0-0 at the end of the first period behind 10 saves by Senior Assistant Captain Ali Ponte (Richmond Hill, Ontario). The effort was clearly there for Plymouth, but they were unable to put the puck in the back of the net.

As soon as the second period started, the Panthers were on the power play, as the Beacons committed a penalty 43 seconds into the period. Only seven seconds later, Olivia Leon (Newburyport, MA) deflected a shot from senior Stephanie Newmark (Sydney, Australia) that found the back of the net. PSU was just getting going, as Jane Baruch (Coventry, R.I.) and Jamie O'Brien (Chelmsford, MA) each netted a goal on breakaways to give the Lady Panthers a 3-0 lead with about eight minutes left in the third period. For both seniors, it was their first goals of the season, in which the team truly embraced and congratulated both players on their goals. The Beacons got a goal towards the end of the period to cut the lead to 3-1. Head Coach Ashley Kilstein was pleased with her team's seconds period performance stating that "it was one of the best periods of the season," and that she was "confident in the team to close out the game".

The third period saw UMass Boston score a goal early to make it 3-2, but PSU was able to find the back of the net only 4:40 later to give them a 4-2 lead. Sophomore Kelsey Lynch (Collegeville, PA) scored the goal that ultimately put the game away for the Lady Panthers. Despite another Beacons goal, Ponte shut down UM-B to give Plymouth the 4-3 win. Ponte had 37 saves in the win to raise her save percentage up to 91.6% for the 2013-2014 season.

PSU has one more game left in their regular season, in which they play Saint A's on Saturday afternoon (2/14). The seniors will be honored before the game starts, which includes O'Brien, Carrie Baruch (Coventry, R.I.), Tasha Wyatt (Vail, CO), Kelsey Maguire (Swampscott, MA), Assistant Captain (and News Editor for The Clock) Ali Myers (Seattle, WA), Allison Collins (Murrieta, CA), Newmark, Captain Meghan Cassidy (Somerville, N.J.), Baruch, Nicole Crandle (Bristol, CT) and Ponte. The group of seniors will be missed, and look for the Lady Panthers to put in a hell of an effort to ensure that their seniors will go out in style!