ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine women's ice hockey team was defeated 3-1 by Connecticut on Sunday afternoon at Alfond Arena. Maine had a power play goal by Kate Sunstrum, but two goals by Connecticut's Jaclyn Hawkins was the difference. With the win, Connecticut moves to 16-10-2 overall and 11-4-1 in Hockey Easy play, while Maine falls to 7-17-2 overall and 2-12-2 in conference play.

The Huskies had the first power play opportunity of the game, but were unable to convert on the advantage. Both teams had good chances as the period continued. Connecticut took the lead when Amy Hollstein gained possession of the puck at the red line off a turnover and went in for the unassisted goal at 16:06. The Huskies also had a couple of strong scoring chances with two minutes left in the period, but Genevieve Turgeon (Lac Beauport, Quebec) made the saves.

Maine had their first power play chance of the game at 6:19 in the second period, and did not waste the opportunity. Elyce Thomas (Port Colquitlam, British Columbia) got the puck to Kelly Law (Markham, Ontario), who put a pass right on the stick of Kate Sunstrum (London, Ontario) for the goal at 7:24. At the sixteen minute mark, Connecticut's Kristen Russell went in alone, but her shot was saved by Genevieve Turgeon.

In the third period, the Huskies had their third power play chance of the game, but Maine came away with the best chance when Pam Patterson (Miracmichi, New Brunswick) had a shorthanded shot saved by Brittany Wilson. With the two teams skating four-on-four, Connecticut came up with a couple big shots, including one by Cristin Allen that hit the post. The Huskies took a 2-1 lead at 12:37 when Jaclyn Hawkins scored with assists from Amy Hollstein and Bridget King. The Black Bears pulled Genevieve Turgeon with 2:22 remaining in the game in favor of an extra skater and did get several shots on net. However the Huskies were able to ice the game with an unassisted empty net goal by Jaclyn Hawkins at 18:53.

In goal, Maine's Genevieve Turgeon had 28 saves and two goals against. For Connecticut, Brittany Wilson had 22 saves with one goal against. Maine had two penalties for four minutes and Connecticut had four penalties for eight minutes. On power plays, Maine was 1-1 and Connecticut was 0-3. The Huskies outshot Maine 31 to 23.

Maine will play a weekend series at Vermont on February 10 and 11. The final home series will be February 17 and 18 against Boston University. For more information on University of Maine athletics, visit www.GoBlackBears.com.