From hungerf@fas.harvard.edu Sun Mar 22 20:54:10 1998 Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 09:46:39 -0500 From: Richard Hungerford To: HOCKEY-L@MAINE.MAINE.EDU Subject: UNH Women 4 - Brown 1 Late Saturday afternoon at the FleetCenter, the University of New Hampshire Wildcats won the first US Nationals by defeating the Bears of Brown 4-1. It was not a great game, but the final looked good at the larger venue. UNH found their scoring touch on the foreign ice and thus won the championship. As the match began, both teams were wiring the place. Play was slow. The Bears scored first when Melissa Rennison (Jill Graat) finished off a nice 1-2 break by hitting the back of the net. UNH came back with a power play goal when Tina Carrabba (Winny Brodt, Michelle Thornton) deflected home a blast from the point. In the second, the Wildcats were moving better. Brown was looking a tad tight. Kali Wilson (Kim Knox) gave New Hampshire a 2-1 lead when she chipped one in off a scramble at the side of the goal. UNH established a two goal gap next on the best goal of the contest. Winny Brodt threaded the super long ball pass to Kerry Maher (Brodt) who went in all alone on Brown's goalie Alison Brewer. Maher made a dramatic deke and tucked the puck in the net. Lovely goal! In the final interval, Brown tried to come back, but the Wildcats did the only scoring. Melissa McKenzie (Carrabba, Maher) redirected a centering pass on a power play to make it 4-1. The replay seemed to show McKenzie had touched the high pass legally, before taking her stick too high. The FleetCenter is a fair place to watch a hockey game. You are somewhat far away, but the slightlines are basically good. In general, higher is better. I would like to thank all the HockeyEast fans who did show up early to see the women's national final. Merci beaucoup! Brown played well. They were not rolling as well as they have been in the last few games and did not get the key scores they needed. The Brown woman of the match was Brewer. She held the Bears in this one, especially with some big, early saves. While UNH's Brodt was a good choice for tourney MVP, Brewer would have been an excellent choice also. Winning the ECAC Championship and making the National final made this a great season for Brown. New Hampshire had more zip today and was able to convert. The Wildcat passing game created the big chances. Fresher forward Thornton had a stellar match using her dynamic movement well. First-year defender Brodt played another fine team game. She can really lay on the sweet pass. Maher's goal was marvelous. The sophomore used her speed well all day. The UNH woman of the match was fresher blue liner Brandi Kerns. She has amazing range and is very smart. Whether she's firing in a point shot over a sprawling opponent, or just providing coverage Kerns is wonderful. UNH completed its double, taking the ECAC League title and the US Nationals. _____________ / good shooting hungerf _____________/ HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to INFO-HOCKEY-L@Maine.edu, The College Hockey Information List.