FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College women's ice hockey team were close to avenging the previous year's losses against Middle Atlantic Conference foe Arcadia University but ended up tying 3-3 before falling 2-1 in the shootout.
Inside the Box Score
Renata Petrella (Cranberry Township, Pa./Nashville Jr. Predators U19) scored a goal and an assist on the evening.
Sofie Ancona (Grosse Point Farms, Mi./Saint Clair Shores Saints) and
Astrid Wilbur (Alexandria, Va./Washington Pride U19) both scored a goal.
Emily Cross (Bryantown, Md./Tri-City Eagles) finished with an assist in her first collegiate appearance.
Maggie Grijalva (Fullerton, Ca./Anaheim Lady Ducks AAA) made 50 saves.
How it Happened
The Blazers looked to be in trouble early when they found themselves on the penalty kill less than a minute into the game but only allowed one shot on goal and even had a chance of their own when Wilbur was sprung for a breakaway. Knights goalie Gabby Meger shut the door to keep the game tied though. Despite Hood being hemmed in its own zone for the remainder of the period, Grijalva outplayed Arcadia at every corner, stopping all 22 shots she faced to keep it a scoreless game after the first period.
A second penalty kill for the Blazers would not go as smoothly as the first, as the Knights managed to locate a rebound loose near the crease before Hood could and put the home team down 1-0. Although the Blazers could not score on their first power play shortly after the first goal, they had picked up some momentum in the game, and some sloppy puck handling from Arcadia led to a steal and breakaway for Ancona who blew a shot by Meger's glove side to tie things at one.
Although Hood kept up the pressure following the goal, a small rush from the Knights led to an open player on the side of the ice who was able to pick the corner and restore Arcadia's one-goal lead. That seemed to spark the Knights' offense, but Grijalva shrugged the goal off and locked back in to stop the remaining shots and keep the Blazers' deficit to just 2-1 entering the final frame.
After managing to kill off the remainder of a penalty that took place at the end of the second period, Hood was able to get some offensive zone time of their own, but despite no score in that rush, it would earn itself another power play a few minutes later. A second power play opportunity would not go to waste thanks to a wrister from Wilbur that found the back of the net and tied things back up 2-2.
The magic did not stop there, as the Blazers found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage after two quick penalties for Arcadia and managed to score with the later one-man advantage when a perfectly timed tip from Petrella off a shot by Cross fooled the goalie and gave Hood their first lead of the game with less than seven minutes to play. The Knights turned their intensity up after that though, pouring on the pressure until another pile up in front of Grijalva allowed a shot to get by her and send the game to overtime.
Both squads had good scoring opportunities in the 3-on-3 overtime period, but both goaltenders stood tall to force a shootout, where the Blazers would end up falling 2-1 after Ancona was stuffed trying to keep the game going.
For the Opponent
Chloe Mackinson, Charlotte Siksik, and Ava Glab scored for the Knights.
Meger made 20 saves in goal.
Analysis
Arcadia outshot Hood 53-23.
The Blazers had a 31-27 edge in faceoffs.
Hood went 2-6 on power plays, while Arcadia converted 1-4 of theirs.
Up Next
The Blazers wrap up the two-game series against the Knights at Skate Frederick Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m.
