GENEVA, Ill. – The Trine University women's hockey team dropped an overtime contest against their hosts from Aurora University. The point toward the standings means the Thunder returns home with four of six possible points toward the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) standings.
Trine struck first in the contest, scoring in the eighth minute of the second period. After forcing a faceoff in the forward zone, Ryleigh White won the puck back to her teammate. Maya Shtrom collected the puck and threaded a shot through the defense and into the back of the net. The Thunder took the 1-0 lead into the third period, after the rest of the second went scoreless.
The Spartans scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to take their first lead of the weekend at 2-1. That score held until the final seconds of regulation.
Things took an even grimmer turn when the Thunder were assessed a penalty in the 19th minute of the final period. Down a skater, the team found a way to apply some offensive pressure in the waning seconds of the contest. After a saved shot, Chloe Downey wrestled the puck away from a defender to keep it in the offensive zone. Emma-Lyn Stephenson relieved her of the puck and made a quick pass toward the slot where Hannah Lambers was rushing toward the net. Her shot found the back of the net and forced overtime.
Aurora broke the tie in the fourth minute of the extra period to take the contest 3-2. Zsuzsa Révész played the day in net and made 33 saves while allowing the three goals.
The Thunder fall to 7-12-2 overall and 3-10-1 in NCHA play. They will travel to face Marian University for their next contests, the first of which is scheduled to be played 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on Saturday, February 7.
