Lancers Fall to Wildcats in OT Battle

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Women's Ice Hockey team (5-5-1, 4-1-1) returns to home ice after over three weeks on the road as they welcome the Johnson and Wales Wildcats (1-10-0, 1-7-0) to the Fidelity Bank Ice Center for a Friday night showdown. The Lancers are looking to rebound from a hard fought loss versus Wesleyan last Sunday in non-conference action on the night.

Final-OT:

Worcester State: 1

Johnson & Wales (RI): 2

The first period of play was full of scoring opportunities for both teams as they battled their way across the ice, but neither team was able to convert into a goal. Each team had brief chances during a man up situation but overlapping penalties for each team saw only about 30 seconds of advantage for either team in the period. Sophomore Kelsey Czerniawski (Chicopee, Mass) had 10 saves in the first period of play for the Lancers, while senior Leah White (Hingham,Mass) had 11 saves for Johnson & Wales at the end of the first period.

Approximately one minute and thirty seconds into the second period of play, Worcester State opened the scoring with a goal from sophomore Cailey Ryan (Acton,Mass) with assists from senior Ellien Cook (Beckett, Mass) and graduate student Katie Puumala (Framingham, Mass). Ryan cradled the puck onto her stick before releasing into the top bar of the net, right over the Wildcats goaltender to get the action started early. While scoring was dry for the remainder of the period, there was still plenty of action as both teams worked to add to the tally. The Wildcats nearly had the equalizer about  halfway through the period but after an official review, the puck was deemed clear of the line and the game remained 1-0 in the Lancers favor. Worcester State was unable to add to the total on their lone power play chance of the period, but more importantly, they kept the Wildcats off the board with their two power play opportunities in the period. Aside from allowing a goal, White added 8 more saves to her tally while Czerniawski added 14 saves to her tally on the night.

The third period of play involved a lot of intense moments which eventually helped the visitors equalize the score with a goal from freshman Sophia Brea (Windham, NH), assisted by sophomore Zoe Tow (Brookline, Mass) and junior Reese Middendorf (Phoenix, AZ). Both teams kept on pushing for a winner but the third period ended with the score tied at one a piece.

Fifteen seconds into the overtime period, sophomore Allyson Barry (Woodbury, MN) netted the game winner for Johnson & Wales with an assist from junior Madi Fox (Wibraham, Mass) and Tow. 

Czerniawski finished the game with 42 saves while White had 32 saves on the night.

The Lancers now sit at (5-6-1,4-1-1 ) as the Wildcats move to (2-10-1,1-7-0). The Lancers return to action when they journey to New England College tomorrow for a 3pm puck drop in their final game of 2023.