PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The No. 9 Maine Black Bears and Providence College Friars break even settling to a 1-1 tie for their second draw of the season after settling to a 2-2 tie back in November. With this tie at the Schneider Arena on Saturday afternoon, Maine (17-9-5, 11-6-4 WHEA) remains in second place in Hockey East with Providence (14-11-7, 10-7-5 WHEA) just one point behind on their tail in third.
 
After defending countless shots in their end throughout the majority of the first period, the Black Bears took initiative and came alive on the attack. With a perfectly placed feed by Ebba Strandberg directly in front of net, Catherine Tufts powered by momentum plus being tripped up by a defender, used her entire body to ensure the puck crossed over the goal line as she slid into the net with the puck. With 5:10 on the clock, Maine commanded a 1-0 lead. Anna Zikova grabbed her 11^th assist of the season to start of the play.
 
Closing out the first period, Zikova fired a deep shot taking a hard bounce off of Ariane Julien as she stepped in the way for the block. Without hesitation, Julien recovered from the hit and chased down the puck racing against both Maine defenders and just barely beating them out, she skated one-on-one towards net minder Carly Jackson and snuck in an unassisted goal. With her first collegiate goal, the Friars evened the score, 1-1, with 2:54 left to play in the opening frame.  Providence held a 15-7 shot advantage over Maine advancing in the second period.
 
Maine nearly broke the tie early on in the second period off a shot by Josefine Engmann which was tipped up off a stick just under the crossbar into the back of the net. Unfortunately, the goal was overturned after thorough review by the referees and called off due to goalie interference. The Black Bears carried this drive throughout the second period out-shooting the Friars 12-11.
 
Hustling back to stop a breakaway, Zikova stopped leading scorer for the Friars, Brooke Boquist, from a huge scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, the play resulted in a penalty with 4:07 left to play in overtime. The Black Bears killed the penalty without Jackson even having to touch the puck and rode out the remainder of overtime scoreless.
 
Finishing out 65 minutes on the ice, Jackson accumulated 31 saves to Madison Myers 30. Jackson tallied her fifth tie of the season in net.
 
Both teams will return to the ice tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 11^th to face-off for the tie-breaker at 2 p.m.  
 

This February, the University of Maine community comes together with the support of the Maine Sports Commission to celebrate the achievements of women and girls in sports. We believe that participation in sports at all ages builds courage, strength, and character and provides women with the confidence and tools to become the leaders of tomorrow. Please join us at our games and celebration events throughout the month. 
To support UMaine Women's Athletics, please visit: our.umaine.edu/fillthesteins
 
-UMaine-