Lancers Fall just Shy versus Western New England

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Women's Ice Hockey team (0-2-0, 0-0-0) is back in action this evening as they journey to Western New England to take on the Golden Bears. After a hard fought series versus Arcadia last weekend, the Lancers look to snag their first win of the season tonight.

Final

Worcester State: 1

Western New England: 3

How it Happened:

The Lancers with a late Saturday night start open looking to lead the charge of their first official away game of the season. The Golden Bears would start quick on the offensive with two quick shots in the first minute before the Lancers settled the attack with two attempts of their own. But the quick start would see WNE grab the first goal on the ice to go ahead 1-0. Worcester State's defense would step up to the challenge for the rest of the period, staying strong on power plays and in the zone over the remaining period as the Golden Bears put on the high pressure. Worcester would record a few solid chances of their own, but their focus was defensive in the first to hold onto the single goal deficit as the first 20 minutes of the game were off the clock. 

The second period opened with a huge chance for the Lancers, a quick dish through the neutral zone gave freshman, first year Emily Johns (Clinton, MA ) a quick breakaway for a chance to open her team's scoring. The Golden Bears, looking to respond a couple minutes later, capitalized on a scrum in front, with Katie Cronin tucking away the puck for a 2-0 lead. Graduate student Sydney Vautour (Hamilton, MA) also looked to get her team on the scoreboard with a move to her backhand across the crease but Western New England's goaltender snagged it just in time. Finally, the Lancers broke through led by sophomore Maddy Franta (Superior, WI) who received a pass from sophomore Caroline Melanson (Wakefield, MA) and faked the defender to shoot top shelf making the score 1-2. The rest of the second period Worcester and WNE were going back and forth looking for advantages, but the Lancers still trailed by one.

The third period started with both teams pushing the pace but the Lancers still behind on shots in comparison to the Golden Bears. A quick penalty by Worcester also left them short handed but a huge defensive effort by junior Kelsey Czerniawski (Chicopee, MA) and her defensemen kept them at 2-1. A phenomenal clearance by sophomore Kelly Lovett (Peabody, MA) in the crease saved Worcester a goal as they looked to go back on an offensive run. Halfway through the third the Golden Bears had 49 shots to the Lancers small but mighty 13, and another scuffle in front led Mabel Gerard of Western New England, to put her team up 3-1. With not much time left, Worcester called a quick timeout to regroup before drawing a  penalty to go on the powerplay for the remaining 2 minutes of the game. Czerniawski was pulled and the Lancers, playing 6 on 4 worked the puck and attempted to gain an offensive advantage but the Golden Bears stood strong. As the final time ran out the score would sit at 3-1 and the Lancers were looking to regroup for their first conference game on Tuesday.

What's Next:

Worcester State (0-3-0, 0-0-0) is back on home ice next Tuesday when they open up conference play with a meeting against Plymouth State at 6:30pm.