On Saturday night, the Lindenwood women's ACHA division II ice hockey team fell to the Arizona Wildcats in their final regular season home game by the score of 5-3 at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Both squads matched each other stride for stride for most of the first period. Lindenwood fired eight shots on goal in the period to the Wildcats' four, but the game remained scoreless after one period of play.
Unlike the quiet first period, the second period scoring started early as the Wildcats jumped ahead at 3:25 with a goal to take a 1-0 lead. Arizona added four more goals between 10:20 and 17:21- the last a power play goal- and held a 5-0 lead with just under three minutes to play in the period. The Lions continued to apply pressure, amassing 17 shots in the second period and finally being rewarded at the 19:43 mark. With 17 seconds remaining in the frame,
Hilary Pearce and
Devyn Doti found
Madison Teague for her 10th goal of the season. Teague's goal makes her third Lion to reach double-digit goals scored this year joining
Loki Antonio and
Ardyn Hawryshko. For Pearce, it was her 17th assist on the season, good for second-most on the team. Despite the late push, the Lions still found themselves trailing the Wildcats 5-1 heading into the final period of play.
The Lions carried their momentum into the third period and were able to cut the deficit to three by the midway point. At 10:19,
Bee Nicholl lit the lamp for her first goal of the year, trimming the Wildcats lead to 5-2.
Ava Bilton and Kenzie Cameron picked up assists on Nicholl's goal. Lindenwood continued to dominate in puck possession and offensive zone time and kept the Wildcats on their heels for the remainder of the period. At 17:44, Hawryshko scored her 15th goal of the season off feeds from
Kirsten Martinez and
Julia Schoonbaert. With 15 tallies, Hawyshko is now second on the team in goals and third in points with 29. The Lions battled until the final whistle and outshot the Wildcats 23-3 in the third period, but Lindenwood ultimately came up short in Saturday's contest by the score of 5-3.
Lindenwood defenseman,
Alison Blaskovich, made the emergency start between the pipes Saturday night and played very well. Blaskovich made 18 saves against the Wildcats and thwarted multiple grade A Arizona scoring chances. The Lions outshot the Wildcats 48-23 and 15-6 on the power play. Saturday's loss is the Lions' fourth in a row and drops their overall record to 10-15-2 on the season.
The Lions wrap up their weekend series with the Wildcats tomorrow morning at the Maryville Ice Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
