UMass men's hockey falls to Western Michigan in NCAA Fargo Regional final
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After failing to capitalize on a power play after UMass forward Aydar Suniev was whistled for boarding, Western Michigan (32-7-1) cashed in when Suniev took another penalty. The Broncos' challenge for a major was successful, and Suniev's night was done when the call was upgraded to a five-minute major and a game misconduct for hitting NCHC player of the year Alex Bump from behind at 18:14 of the second.
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The Minutemen, who were the third least penalized team in the NCAA this season, would not only be a man down for the next five minutes, but also without their second leading scorer in Suniev. The sophomore had 20 goals this season, two coming in the 5-4 win over Minnesota in Thursday's semifinal, including the overtime winner.
The Broncos needed just 21 seconds to convert, with Providence College transfer Liam Valente blasting a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Grant Slukynsky at 18:35. Western Michigan landed the last 10 shots of the period and held a 20-18 edge through 40 minutes.
When the third period resumed, Western Michigan still had 3:14 remaining on the power play and took advantage, grabbing a 2-1 lead when Tim Washe re-directed a shot from Brian Kramer past Michael Hrabal (25 saves) at 2:47.
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Less than a minute later, UMass (21-14-5) went on the power play when Western Michigan's Iiro Hakkarainen went off for elbowing. The call was upgraded to a standalone five-minute major for contact to the head, but the Minutemen failed to find the back of the net.
UMass had several opportunities in the closing minutes with Hrabal pulled for the extra skater, but failed to get a shot by Slukynsky as the Broncos held on to clinch their first trip to the Frozen Four in 10 NCAA tournament appearances.
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King said she found Williams' comments to be ridiculous and went searching to confirm they weren't a parody. Five years ago, tennis icon Billie Jean King joined World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe, the WNBA's Candace Parker and nearly 200 athletes in supporting transgender youth participation in sports as part of a response to Idaho legislation that banned trans girls from competing in schools. 'There is no place in any sport for discrimination of any kind,' Billie Jean King said in a Women's Sports Foundation release. 'I'm proud to support all transgender athletes who simply want the access and opportunity to compete in the sport they love. The global athletic community grows stronger when we welcome and champion all athletes – including LGBTQI+ athletes.' Another tennis icon, Martina Navratilova, however, sees it differently than Billie Jean and has been vocal about the subject for years. She's one of the few decorated female athletes to do so. 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Though her work with the foundation has come to an end, she's finding more ways to use her platform. 'You know, I have nothing to lose,' said King on the divisive gender topic. 'I don't have any sponsorships at this stage. I've always been kind of outspoken and strong about values that I think even if I were playing, I would speak up.' Her mother, Helen Szymkowicz King, graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1940 and was elected into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame as a three-sport athlete. King looks at how much the landscape has changed for women's sports in recent decades and views the transgender debate as a step backward. 'Many of us fought for places to compete when none existed,' King said. 'We cannot surrender our sports or our spaces.' Put another way by one of golf's most decorated American players: It's simply not fair.
