Worcester, MA - The University of Maine women's ice hockey team [15-17-2, 11-14-2 HE] dominated the Holy Cross Crusaders, 5-2, Saturday night at Hart Center Rink to clinch home ice in the opening round of Hockey East playoffs.

Opening Round Information:
The opening round is set for Wednesday, Feb. 28 as Maine will host Merrimack College, in a single elimination game, to determine who proceeds to the Quarterfinal round of playoffs.  

#8 Maine vs #9 Merrimack
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 28
Site: Alfond Arena | Orono, ME
Time: 6:00 PM
Stream: ESPN+
Tickets: Opening Round playoff tickets are now on sale. Visit http://tinyurl.com/4vbr8sas to purchase yours today.
              General admission ticket prices are set by the conference and will cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth, seniors, and groups. Admission for UMaine Students is free.

How it Happened:
A pair of power-play goals in the second period was the momentum-builder for the Black Bears to overtake the lead from the Crusaders. After trailing by a goal heading into the second period, Ida Kuoppala tallied her second goal of the night on a power-play opportunity assisted by Mira Seregély and Elise Morphy. Kuoppala's first goal came in the first period off a pass from Rahel Enzler. 

Sam Morrison scored the game-winning goal a few minutes later for Maine, again on a power-play pass from Ida Kuoppala. Adriana van de Leest scored Maine's fourth goal, the third of the period, on a tip from Rahel Enzler's shot.

Maine continued to dominate the play scoring a fifth and final goal by Mira Seregély with ten minutes left in the game. With just over five minutes to play, Maine was called for a 5-minute major penalty, their only penalty of the game, but killed it off successfully. 

The Black Bears were 2-for-3 on the power play and outshot Holy Cross 34 to 30. 

Goaltender Jorden Mattison picked up her second win of the weekend sweep, making 28 saves for Maine. 

Maine Leaders:
Ida Kuoppala - 2 goals, 1 assist 
Rahel Enzler - 3 assists
Mira Seregély - 1 goal, 1 assist
Sam Morrison - 1 goal, 1 assist
Elise Morphy - 1 assist
Mikayla Boarder - 1 assist
Jorden Mattison - 28 saves

HOCKEY EAST POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT FORMAT
Again in 2024, all 10 women's programs will compete in a single-elimination postseason tournament for the Bertagna trophy.

Seeds seven and eight will host seeds 10 and nine, respectively, in the Opening Round on Wednesday, February 28 while the top six seeds receive a bye into the Quarterfinals. After a reseeding, the top two seeds will host the winners of the Opening Round while the three seed will host the six seed and the four seed will host the five seed. These quarterfinal games are scheduled to be played on Saturday, March 2 (date could vary by venue). 

Semifinals will take place on Wednesday, March 6 and the Championship is set for Saturday, March 9.

The winner of the tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

The 2024 NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Selection Show will air live on ESPNews at 12:30 on Sunday, March 10.

-UMaine-