From Lindenwood University Athletics
Women’s ACHA ice hockey earned a 6-5 shootout victory over Minnesota in the Women’s Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Tournament Friday afternoon at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Virginia.
A turnover led to an unassisted goal for the Gophers midway through the opening period, but the Lions responded when Katelynn Weeks scored her ninth of the season off a nice pass from Marina Evert at 12:19. Lindenwood took a 2-1 advantage moments later when Ardyn Hawryshko sounded the horn on a play set up by Loki Antonio and Hilary Pearce at 13:55. A holding penalty gave Minnesota a power play late in the first, but the Lions killed it off and carried the lead into the next frame.
The Gophers controlled the first half of the second, tying the contest at 2:27, and they took a 3-2 advantage on another unassisted goal at 8:14, but Lindenwood pushed back. Hawryshko netted her 17th of the season at 10:04. Kirsten Martinez earned her first assist of the year with Evert getting the secondary assist on the play. Evert then helped set up her third goal of the game when she fired a shot on a breakaway. Pearce was on the spot to send the loose puck home for a 4-3 Lions lead at 12:58.
A tripping call against Minnesota gave Lindenwood a power play in the third and it only took 32-seconds for the Lions to take advantage. Pearce and Madison Teague set up Ava Bilton for the score at the 7:10 mark to make it 5-3, but the Gophers were not done. They came back with two more unassisted goals at 8:54 and 17:15 to knot things at 5-5. The final moments of regulation ticked away, setting up a five-minute, three-on-three overtime session.
Minnesota had a golden opportunity to get a game-winner early in the extra time after Lindenwood was called for tripping at 1:34, but as that power play was winding down, the Gophers were called for hooking, which gave the Lions the advantage down the stretch. Lindenwood worked the puck, but couldn’t get it in the net.
For official ACHA purposes, the game ended there in a 5-5 tie, but the WMCH uses the shootout. Evert came over the boards first for the Lions and she connected for a 1-0 advantage. Lindenwood goaltender Jordan Tung stopped the first two Minnesota attempts, but the third evaded her, sending the shootout to an extra round. Antonio scored on her attempt and Tung made the save against the Gophers effort, giving the Lions the shootout victory.
Minnesota had a 43 to 19 shot advantage in regulation and overtime, but Tung stopped 38 of the 43 shots she faced in goal. The Lions scored once on two power plays while holding the Gophers scoreless on three man-advantage chances.
The WMCH Tournament wrapped up the season for Lindenwood women’s ACHA hockey. Officially, the Lions conclude the season with a record of 2-12-1 in the WMCH and 7-16-5 overall. They entered the tournament at No. 15 in the ACHA Division I Ranking. The final ranking of the regular season will be released next week.
(Originally published at https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2024/2/24/womens-ice-hockey-acha-womens-acha-hockey-tops-minnesota-in-shootout.aspx)
