2008 Woodie Awards
Women's hockey shuts out Nichols, sets sights on ACHA national title
Brett McDermott
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Sports
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Throughout the game it appeared that Rhody had not re-centered itself after the emotional high it experienced last weekend, winning its fifth-straight ECWHL tournament championship in a triple overtime thriller.
URI handled the sub-500 Nichols College earlier in the season with a score of 7-1, but the No. 2 nationally ranked Rams may have been looking past the No. 7 Bisons and toward the ACHA national tournament a bit early. The brash squad kept the fans at Boss Ice Arena biting their nails for a second straight week.
"We struggled a little bit this weekend," head coach Beth McCann said. " We probably went in a bit overconfident."
It appeared early on though, that URI was going to use its championship-winning momentum in a positive way. Sophomore forward Michelle Paquin snuck one past the goalie's glove in the seventh minute of the first period, giving the home team a lead that it would not relinquish.
The scoreboard would remain dormant for the next period and a half, with Rhody white-knuckling a one-goal lead headed into the third period.
The two standout performers in this one were easily the women who stood in front of the nets. Luckily, impressive play by Bison goalie Christine Rigosi was edged out by the dominating shutout performance of URI senior captain, Lynn Pecci.
Besides the outstanding defense, McCann managed to find one more positive in the contest.
"It was probably a good thing that we struggled," McCann said. "We got to see our weaknesses and will have time to work on them going into the ACHA tourney."
The Rhode Island faithful were finally able to move back from the edge of their seats, when URI added some much needed padding to its lead in the third period. Sophomore forward Nicole Ouellette drew a collective sigh from the crowd as she scored in the second minute. All that was left in this defensive struggle would be 15 more scoreless minutes.
Although the Rams may have played down to their opponents' level in this regular season finale, it does mark an eighth win in their last 10 contests. If URI can put this lackluster performance in the rearview mirror, it seems to be primed for a run at an ACHA national title. The tournament starts on Thursday in Benensville, Ill. and Rhody will be tested from the get-go.
The first day double header starts at 8:30 a.m. against Michigan and will be followed up at 4:30 p.m. with a match up against Northern Michigan. McCann has been getting her team ready for the early starting time.
"The early start and recovery time we will have to deal with on the first day is going to be rough," said McCann. "We've been running at 8 a.m. this week to prepare, and will be ready."