The University of Rhode Island Women’s Club Hockey team played in back to back games on Saturday, February 1st and Sunday, February 2nd. On Saturday The University of New Hampshire traveled to Boss Ice Arena to face the Rams at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Rams then faced in-state rivals, the Providence University Friars the next day, at 10:30 a.m. The quick turnaround for the women’s Club Hockey team proved to be no problem for the Rams as they won both games. 

GAME ONE(UNH)

The first period of the game was dominated by the Rams as they out-shot the Wildcats 11-5. The lone goal of the period was scored by Forward Jenna Stevens who dangled two defenders and juked out the goalie for a beautiful fast break score, Rams lead 1-0. The second period started off strong for the Rams as assistant captain Grace Gibbons scored off a rebound to bring the lead to 2-0 with 18:00 minutes left in the period. The stifling defense anchored by Goalie Amelia Lambert, paired with an aggressive offensive attack led the Rams to success. The scoring would continue, as Grace Gibbons got her second point of the game with an assist to Rylee Tanner who scored with six minutes remaining in the second.  Rams lead 3-0 on the scoreboard and 29-9 in shots on goal going into the third period. UNH showed signs of life in the third, scoring the first goal of the period to make the score 3-1 with 19 minutes left. This comeback would be shut down by Defender Penny Spack, who scored in style late in the third period to bring the Rams lead back to three goals. The final score was 4-1 with URI outshooting UNH 37-14. 

Senior Grace Gibbons spoke to the team’s success this weekend “We were able to implement that kind of lighthearted, yet focused game mentality” , said Gibbons. The assistant captain who has been skating since she was two years old, also explained why each game means a little more to her. “Realizing how much short of time I have left and just wanting to give a full on effort every time I step on the ice” Said Gibbons. 

 

GAME TWO(Providence)

Less than 24 hours after their victory over UNH the women’s club hockey team arrived back at Boss Ice Arena to take on rivals; Providence College. The scoring action kicked off midway through the first as Bella Bonfiglio assisted Rylee Tanner for the top shelf wrist shot score. URI lead 1-0 after the first and trails Providence in shots on goal 12-10. Grace Gibbons scored the second goal of the game with six minutes remaining in the second period; Rams lead 2-0. The Friars responded quickly, cutting the URI lead to one goal. Providence would go on to score again in the second, tying the score at two goals a piece off a power play with less than a minute remaining in the second. Providence continues to possess the momentum in the game going into the third period. The Friars scored quickly in the third, which gave them the lead in the game 3-2. The Rams refused to back down however, as Bella Bonfiglio got her second point of the game, with a garbage goal in four on four play due to penalties on both teams. The score is 3-3, but not for long as Providence responds with a slap shot goal to put the Friars up 4-3 with seven minutes remaining. The Rams clutch player for the weekend, Penny Stack tied the game at  four goals a piece for the Rams with a relentless rising wrist shot. The remaining five minutes of regulation saw clutch saves by goalie Madeline Ashenfelter, which brought the game to a five minute overtime period tied at 4-4. Allie Guthrie iced the game for URI in the overtime period with a goal assisted by Captain Emily Jedson; Rams win 5-4 despite being out shot by the Friars 42-29. 

 

The former division one rower at UMass Amherst, Gibbons, spoke towards the rivalry with Providence and how they were able to get the win. “Obviously a little Rhode Island rivalry is always good,” said Gibbons. “As we went ahead early, we kind of settled in and you can’t do that against a team like Providence; they’ll come back after you” Gibbons remarked. “We realized that when we were playing five on five, we were going to take them all day,” said Gibbons. This was URI’s second matchup with in-state rivals Providence this season. The two teams faced off In Providence at the beginning of the season on September 29th, URI won this matchup 4-2. 

 

Gibbons favorite part of being on the club hockey team is “definitely just the teammates, the girls… all of my best friends are on the team” Grace remarked. “Just knowing that you have people behind you and supporting you, it’s a really cool experience.” said Gibbons 

 

The Rams traveled to UMass Amherst the next weekend for their next two games. The team lost 4-1 on February 7th and then won 4-2 the next day on February 8th. Next weekend, the team will travel to the midwest to play Indiana Tech twice in two days on February 14th and 15th.