From Lindenwood Athletics
Women’s ACHA ice hockey trailed after the first 40 minutes, but a third period rally lifted the Lions over Maryville 4-2 in Women’s Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) action Friday night at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Both offenses started quickly in the contest with the Saints scoring at the 2:21 mark of the first, but Lindenwood answered just 39-seconds later when Madison Teague and Ardyn Hawryshko set up Loki Antonio.
The game remained tied until Maryville took a 2-1 lead at 10:44 of the second and the Saints carried that advantage through the remainder of the period and well into the third, but a tripping penalty gave the Lions a power play that changed the momentum. Hilary Pierce blasted the puck home with help from Hawryshko and Antonio at 7:47, then Pierce connected again at even-strength at 16:53, assisted by Teague and Antonio.
With Lindenwood now leading 3-2, Maryville went into scramble mode to try to get an equalizer and even pulled the goalie for the extra attacker in the waning moments, but Devyn Doti took possession of a loose puck, fed it to Kenzie Cameron who then set up Ava Bilton for an empty-netter, her first goal of the season, at 19:23. That gave the Lions a 4-2 advantage and sealed the victory.
While the Saints outshot Lindenwood 38-29, Jordan Tung stopped 36 of the 38 shots she faced to earn the win in goal. The Lions scored on their only power play chance while holding Maryville scoreless on four man-advantage opportunities.
With the victory, Lindenwood improved to 1-4 in the WMCH and to 3-7-1 overall. The Lions will go for a series sweep against the Saints tonight. The puck drops at 9 p.m. at the Centene Community Ice Center.
(Originally published at https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/12/2/womens-ice-hockey-acha-third-period-rally-lift-womens-acha-hockey-over-maryville-4-2.aspx)
