BIDDEFORD — It took until the seventh game of the season for the first-year University of New England women’s hockey team to get its first win when it beat Stevenson 6-4 on Dec. 9. The six goals represented a season-high for the Nor’easters, and it represented the present and future of the program.
Junior captain Jenni Poulin and freshman Marissa Clifford-Biederman each had hat tricks and combined for five assists. It’s no surprise, then, that Poulin and Clifford-Biederman are the top two scorers for UNE on the season.
Poulin leads the team in goals, assists and total points, and is also the leader on and off the ice for the Nor’easters.
“Jenni’s been a force for us. She’s definitely got lots of skill, lots of determination, lots of heart,” said UNE head coach Erin Hamlen.
Hamlen said that having a new program, finding a true captain to lead the squad was not so simple. But Poulin made life easy for her.
“We needed to have some leadership in the locker room, and Jenni’s really stepped up,” said Hamlen.
Poulin’s importance to the team is not obvious in her production, but in how the team performed when she wasn’t there.
“She was out of the lineup (for) one game, and I think the entire team felt the let-down of it,” said Hamlen.
The yin to Poulin’s yang is her linemate, Clifford-Biederman. Poulin is the player who gets by on grit and hard work, while Clifford-Biederman brings a dynamic dimension to the Nor’easters.
“She’s got such speed, and she can turn on a dime. She’s somebody who’s just a really explosive player,” said Hamlen, who called Clifford-Biederman “the total package.”
Hamlen said she sees “a great future for Marissa,” who has shown that she’s not afraid of the big moment. Clifford-Biederman, a two-time all-state player in New Hampshire, had a hand in all six goals against Stevenson.
“I’m just excited to have her for another three years after this one,” Hamlen said of being able to keep Clifford-Biederman around for a while longer.
Poulin and Clifford-Biederman, as well as linemate Shannon Reynolds, the third-leading scorer on the team, have given the Nor’easters confidence and a dangerous top line as they head into the winter break. Hamlen said they have a tough final stretch, but with her dynamic duo, it could be tough for UNE’s opponents.
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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