The women's ACHA division I ice hockey team defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers by the score of 3-2 Saturday night at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The comeback victory -their second in as many games- caps off an impressive weekend homestand in which the Lions went 2-0 and got back to .500 on the season.
Still revved up from their thrilling comeback win on Friday night, Lindenwood came out firing from the drop of the puck. They overwhelmed the Golden Gophers with fierce offensive zone pressure and stingy defense. Their efforts were rewarded 16:27 into first period when Loki Antonio netted her 19th goal of the season off a play set up by Ardyn Hawryshko and Hilary Pearce. The Lions put 13 pucks on net in the first period, but their lead would remain just 1-0 heading into the second.
This game was a tale of two periods for both teams. After starting sluggishly in the first period, Minnesota came out of the locker room for the second with all the momentum. Minnesota outshot Lindenwood 21-8 in the second period and had the Lions on their heels for almost the entirety of the frame. The Golden Gophers scored two quick goals at the 10:58 and 13:00 marks, making it 2-1 Minnesota going into the final period of play.
The Lions regained their footing in the third period, quickly drawing a Golden Gopher minor penalty for interference and then capitalizing at 4:37. Ardyn Hawryshko scored the power play goal, her 12th goal of the year. Madison Teague and Loki Antonio picked up assists on the goal. With the game tied 2-2, Antonio once again put the Lions on her shoulders, scoring at the 9:40 mark and giving the Lions a 3-2 lead. This goal -assisted again by Pearce- would end up being the game winner, and for the Lions leading goalscorer, it was her 20th tally of the season.
The Golden Gophers outshot the Lions 34-32 for the game, but Lions goaltender Jordan Tung played well, stopping 32 of 34 Minnesota shots and earning the win. This was the third time the Lions have defeated the Golden Gophers this season. With the win, they complete the season sweep of Minnesota three games to none. The win also improves the Lions record to 8-8-1 on the season. After a brief break from action, the Lions will take the ice once again on Saturday, November 23rd when they take on the Maryville Saints at 9:10 p.m. at Centene Community Ice Center.
