Jimmies doomed by poor special teams in 3-0 loss to Adrian
Jan. 8—JAMESTOWN — The No. 14-ranked University of Jamestown was sunk by poor special teams play in a 3-0 loss to No. 2-ranked Adrian College on Sunday, Jan. 8, at John L. Wilson Arena. In the loss, the Jimmies went 0-for-6 on the power play and gave up two goals on the kill.
Over the last two games, the Jimmies (5-12) are now 2-for-15 on the power play.
"We switched out our breakout a little bit during practice and (Adrian) pressured really really hard on their (penalty kill)," Jimmies head coach Amber Schaack said. "So, that's something we'll have to start implementing in practice too, when they work on their power play. Once we get set up it's fine, it's just finding the soft spots on the ice. That's going to come with experience."
Despite the Bulldogs (16-4) outshooting the Jimmies in the first period 14-8, both teams had quality chances. The problem for the Jimmies though is that the Bulldogs converted theirs as with 11:19 to go in the opening period, Gianna Miranda took a shot from the point that went over the glove of Jimmies goalie Lilah Drew to make it 1-0. With just over a minute to go in the first period, the Jimmies' Rylee Gee got in on goal and had a chance on the short side but her shot went wide.
The Jimmies were outshot 13-4 in the second period but managed to stay in the game thanks to multiple big saves from Drew. The Jimmies also drew four penalties in the period but failed to score on the first three with the last two coming with 10 seconds to go in the period.
The Jimmies had a chance to tie the game up with just over 12 minutes to go when Annika Braun got in on a breakaway but she couldn't finish the chance as she attempted to move the puck from her forehand to her backhand. Around a minute later, the Bulldogs went on the power play and Kate McNair put her team in front 2-0 with 11:07 to go in the game. It didn't take for the Bulldogs to put the game away when they went back on the power play with 10 minutes to go in the game. The Bulldogs' Ashylnn Stitt skated down the left side of the ice and chopped one past Drew to make it 3-0.
The loss means the Jimmies are now on a five-game losing streak. During the skid, the Jimmies are being outscored 23-7.
The Jimmies return to the ice at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they face Midland University.
"As a coaching staff, like I said, it boosts our confidence to know the girls are doing what they need to do and the girls were in good spirits after the game," Schaack said. "They thought they played well, it felt good for them out there too. So, defintely going into this next one, it should be a pretty good confidence booster for us to go see Midland again."
AC 3, UJ 0
AC: 1 0 2—3
UJ: 0 0 0—0
Scoring plays:
First period:
AC: Gianna Miranda, 8:41
Third period:
AC: Macy Piche (PP), 8:53
AC: Ashlynn Stitt (PP), 11:38
Goalie matchup:
AC: Reid Bahr: 15 saves on 15 shots, zero goals allowed
UJ: Lilah Drew: 38 saves on 41 shots, three goals allowed
