By Sophia Oppedisano Sports Editor The Framingham State women’s ice hockey team took home ice at Loring Arena Jan. 30 in conference play against the Plymouth State Panthers. With only a month left to play in their inaugural season, the Rams entered the game still in search of their first win. Freshman Anna McGinty notched her sixth start in goal and freshmen teammates Ceira Garrity, Finley Hogan, Lily Wilson, Sarah Lewis, and Alyssa Tansk made up the starting five on the ice. McGinty was under early pressure from the Panthers who took command of the puck from the faceoff. The Panthers pulled everything in their arsenal in the opening minutes of play and shots ricocheted off McGinty as the Rams fought for zone time. The Rams got the puck into Panthers territory but struggled with puck movement and crucial passes were dropped, leading to Plymouth breakaways that McGinty and her teammates fought to stop. Even with the early pressure, the Rams looked strong on their skates, keeping up with the Panthers and putting themselves in the path of shots to aid McGinty. Plymouth sounded the buzzer first on a misread puck that snuck past McGinty’s pads giving the Panthers a 1-0 advantage. The first period brought the beginnings of penalty trouble for the Rams as freshman Kalina Cochran went to the box for cross-checking as the clock wound past the halfway point in the period. The Rams successfully killed the penalty keeping a good read on the puck and sticking with the Panthers’ passes. Hogan came up the ice with a strong shot opportunity but couldn’t find the back of the net as the shot slid by the post. With continued pressure from the Panthers, McGinty stood strong, blocking five more shots before the Rams tied it on a goal from freshman Petra Cernicek who flicked a shot in heavy traffic to even the score 1-1. Plymouth ended the period with a 2-1 advantage on a backhanded goal with 1:31 left to play. The first period concluded with a tripping penalty committed by freshman Ruby Boucher that carried into the beginning of the second period. Framingham began the second period with a penalty for tripping committed by Tansk, giving the Panthers a 5-on-3 advantage on the ice. With two Rams in the box, Plymouth took full advantage, scoring two goals in 30 seconds and bringing their advantage to 4-1. Hogan continued to show brilliance in her stick handling and flew past Plymouth’s line for a shot attempt that the Panthers goalie stopped with her glove. The momentum shifted in favor of Framingham as they found their first power-play opportunity on a Plymouth penalty for cross-checking which quickly became a 5-3 advantage when another Panther went to the box for interference. The Rams were unable to capitalize on the advantage. As Framingham struggled for time in their offensive zone, the Panthers kept up their momentum, using the slot to throw off McGinty, but the defense prevailed through the end of the second period. The Rams rounded out the period with a successful penalty kill and McGinty managed a heart-stopping save with the toe of her pad. The third period put McGinty to the test but she saved all 17 shots that came her way, showing her adeptness with both her stick and pads in the face of Plymouth’s relentless pressure. Framingham was unable to capitalize on a power-play opportunity but Hogan capped off the Rams’ effort with her first goal of the season. Hogan’s goal encapsulated her efforts throughout the game and her teammates' excitement was palpable as the last 5 minutes wound down. The game concluded with a score of 4-2 and McGinty finished the game with 55 saves and a .932 save percentage for a glowing performance despite the loss. Coming down the stretch, the Rams have one month of regular season play left with their next matchup at home at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro against conference opponent Anna Maria College Feb. 1.
