The Lions, coming off a shutout loss last weekend, looked to rebound with a busy weekend of hockey.
The Lions got on the board early in the first game, at 4:19 in the first period, with a goal by Kenzie Cameron, assisted by Hilary Pearce and Kailey Keller. The Sun Devils would answer back less than two minutes later to tie the game at one. The opening period would end tied at one, and the Sun Devils outshot the Lions 14-7 in the period.
Around the halfway point of the second period, the Lions would light the lamp again and take the lead back. The goal was scored by Loki Antonio assisted by Sarah Nicholl and Ardyn Hawryshko. Then at 15:40, the Lions would score again. Madison Teague was the goal scorer, assisted by Paris Suzuki and Katelynn Weeks. The Lions would take a 3-1 lead into the third period, and they outshot the Sun Devils 13-9 in the second period.
The third period saw a total of 30 shots between the two teams, but the first one to find the back of the net was Antonio at 8:22. The goal was assisted by Teague and Suzuki. Then at 14:12, Antonio would net her hat trick goal to make it 5-1 Lions, Antonio’s 11th goal of the season. The Sun Devils outshot the Lions 20-10 in the third, and 43-30 in the game. Lions goalie Evi Allerding was magnificent, stopping 42 of the 43 shots she faced in the win.
In the second game of the weekend, the Lions jumped out to the lead early in the game at 3:03. The goal was scored by Teague assisted by Keller. Then with less than two minutes to go in the opening period, the Sun Devils tied the game at one. The Lions wanted the lead back before the period ended, and they got it at 19:26 on the power play by Ava Bilton, assisted by Antonio and Teague. The Lions led 2-1 after the first, however, the Sun Devils outshot the Lions 13-11 in the period.
The only goal of the second period was scored by the Sun Devils at 7:04, and that tied the game at two. The Sun Devils outshot the Lions 15-7 in the period.
In the third period, the Sun Devils would get their first lead of the weekend at 16:07. The Lions did not back down, and looked for the tying goal late in the third. Then at 17:43, the Lions got the goal, credited to Hawryshko assisted by Teague and Weeks. The game remained tied at the end of regulation and headed to overtime. The Sun Devils outshot the Lions 10-9 in the third period.
At the four minute mark of overtime, the Lions would net the game winning goal scored by Hawryshko, and assisted by Antonio and Pearce. The Lions outshot the Sun Devils 3-0 in overtime, and for the game, the Sun Devils outshot the Lions 38-30. Allerding stopped 35 of 38 shots in the win, and the Lions sweep the two game series against the Sun Devils.
The third game of the weekend saw the Lions take on a different opponent, the Miami of Ohio RedHawks. Late in the first period, the Lions would get on the board first with a goal by Pearce assisted by Teague and Antonio on the power play at 19:45. The RedHawks outshot the Lions 11-9 in the opening period.
The only goal of the second was scored by the RedHawks to tie the game at one at 6:43 of the frame. The RedHawks outshot the Lions 18-7 in the second period.
About four minutes into the third period, the RedHawks would take the lead on their second power play goal of the contest. Around three minutes later, the Lions would tie the game on a goal by Hawryshko, assisted by Antonio and Devyn Doti. However, that would be the end of the offense for the Lions, and at 17:45 the RedHawks would score and take the lead back. Then in the last minute, at 19:12 the RedHawks would add an empty net goal to secure the 4-2 win. Both teams had 14 shots in the third period, and the RedHawks outshot the Lions 43-30 in the game. Lions goalie Jordan Tung stopped 39 of 43 shots faced in the loss.
The Lions went 2-1 on the weekend and now sit with a record of 5-6 on the season. The Lions will be in action again Nov. 1st and 2nd when they take on Minot State University in Minot North Dakota and then again Nov. 3rd when they take on University of Jamestown in Jamestown North Dakota.
