HAGERSTOWN, Pa. – A second-period tally from
Sofie Ancona (Grosse Point Farms, Mi./University Liggett) was all the Hood College women's ice hockey team needed to bring home their second conference victory, as
Maggie Grijalva (Fullerton, Ca./El Dorado) stood tall in net to secure a 1-0 shutout win over Middle Atlantic Conference opponent Neumann University.
Inside the Box Score
Ancona scored the game's lone goal.
Grijalva made 33 saves in the shutout.
Lillian Scardicchio (Mundelein, Il./Mundelein Cons) assisted on the goal.
How it Happened
Both teams spent the opening half of the first period finding their offensive stride, combining for just six shots on goal over those 10 minutes.
A few minutes later, a hooking penalty on Hood gave Neumann its first big chance to open the scoring, and despite peppering the net, Grijalva held strong and was able to keep anything from sneaking by her. The relief of being back to full strength did not last long though, as the Blazers were caught with too many players on the ice, giving the Knights another good offensive chance.
Neumann got some shots off early in the power play, but timely saves by Grijalva and good defensive play kept the score knotted at 0.
With just over two minutes left in the period, Hood went on the attack, throwing shot-after-shot at the net as it looked to gain some momentum of its own. Nothing found the back of the net, however, and the first period came to a close with both teams scoreless.
The Blazers picked up where they left off in the second, ripping shots on goal and creating chances for themselves to score, but 10 minutes into the period the score still sat at 0-0.
After some back-and-forth play in either offensive zone, a loose puck at center ice found the blade of Scardicchio who was just able to nudge it over to Ancona, and with an outside edge Ancona was able to blow past her defender and across the goalie to tuck a shot in the back of the net and give Hood a 1-0 lead.
Despite Neumann having a full two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play later in the period, it would only manage to get two shots on net during that time and even gave the Blazers the same opportunity towards the end of the period. Although they got some
good looks at another goal, they were unable to expand their lead before the clock ran out.
The Knights came out fighting in the third period, getting shots through on net at a worrying pace, but Grijalva continued to stop everything that crossed her path, including a breakaway chance in the early stages. Neumann drew one more penalty in the game, but still could not find an answer to Grijalva, even pulling the goalie late was not enough for the Knights, as the clock ran out and finalized the Blazers' 1-0 victory.
For the Opponent
Noelle Woodard made 39 saves in the loss.
Notes
The Blazers improve to 4-13-0 (2-11-0), while the Knights drop to 4-10-2 (3-8-2).
Up Next
Hood finishes the series with Neumann in Hagerstown Friday, January 24 at 4:45 p.m.
