Landry was in town with the University of Maine women’s hockey team as the Black Bears faced off against Brown University. It was a homecoming for Landry, who finished her high school hockey career playing at the Norway Savings Bank Arena.

 “I’ve looked forward to today for months, ever since I found out,” Landry said. “I was like a little kid.”

It was a good night all around for Landry and her team. The Black Bears blanked Brown 4-0. Landry made her first start, played several shifts and even had an assist.

“It was great,” Landry said. “It was a good week. It was nice to come back. Driving here, I was like, ‘I’m going home.'”

Landry played in just nine games last season as a freshma and had seen action in just one game this season before Friday. In addition to the start, she saw some regular shifts and gave the Black Bears some good work.

“She earned to play last game,” UMaine coach Richard Reichenbach said. “I was really happy with how she played tonight. She played her game at a Division I level, and that’s what I think we’re the most proud of her for.”

Landry admits it was an adjustment when she joined the program. It was a faster pace and a whole different atmosphere than what she experienced in high school. She settled in and tried to learn from her freshman season.

“Her first year was a huge learning experience,” Reichenbach said. “It was a big jump in that level. I think she’s the first Maine public school hockey player to go Division I. She had a great summer. She came back with a completely different mentality. She knew what it took to have success and every week, she’s progressively getting better.”

Friday proved to be another positive step for her. Landry showed her teammates the banner that hangs in the arena, displaying her record scoring numbers with Leavitt/Edward Little. She also showed them the poster of her that hangs upstairs.

She had regular shifts in the first two periods of the game. Multiple Black Bear penalties limited her play in the final period, but she still saw some action, including being on the ice for the game’s final goal.

“This is the first game that I got in more than usual,” Landry said. “It was a big step. I feel like it was a good step for me.”

She played defense for the entire game, something a little different than her high-scoring forward days in high school. She’s seen time up front occassionally this season, but has fit in nicely on the blue line.

“I love defense,” she said. “I love forward too, but I played defense my first two years of high school. So I’m kind of going back to where I started.”

UMaine (3-4) controlled play for much of the first two periods, outshooting Brown 18-6. The Black Bears only had a 2-0 lead, but that was enough.

“I think in the first and second periods, we moved our feet,” Reichenbach said. “That’s our big focus — skating. We’ve played some pretty good teams thus far. So that was definitely the game where we handled the puck the most. I thought for the first and second period, we did a good job creating space and getting shots to the net.”

Cassidy Herman scored the first goal with 4:10 left in the period. Her blistering shot hit off the crossbar. In the second period, Alyson Matteau made it 2-0 with a shot from the point the deflected in for a power play goal.

The Black Bears had to play some solid defense in front of netminder Meghann Treacy in the final period. Brown (0-1) had a 5-on-3 power play early in the period and had another two-man advantage when it pulled the goalie late. UMaine managed to kill off the penalties and add to the lead in the final minute. Brooke Stacey scored an empty-net goal with 28 seconds left. Then Jill Langtry finished the scoring with four seconds left. Landry was on the ice for that tally.

“If she continues to get stronger and does the things that she’s been doing, she can continue to get more minutes,” Reichenbach said.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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