The Lions opened up a busy weekend of hockey with a two-game series against the Minot State Beavers in Minot, North Dakota. The Lions came into the weekend with a record of 5-6 on the season.
The only goal of the opening period allowed the Lions to take a 1-0 lead. The goal was scored late in the first at 19:35, scored by Ardyn Hawryshko, her 10th goal of the season, and assisted by Loki Antonio and Paris Suzuki. The Beavers outshot the Lions in the first 11-9 but trailed by one.
The second period is where the scoring started to pick up for both teams. First, it was the Lions getting a goal thanks to an unassisted effort by Antonio at the two-minute mark. Then at 9:30, the Beavers would get on the board with a goal of their own to make it 2-1. However, two minutes later the Lions would score again on another unassisted effort by Antonio. The Lions’ fourth goal of the night would come at 14:47, on the power play. The goal would be scored by Madison Teague, and assisted by Antonio. The Beavers outshot the Lions 18-17 in the second period, but the Lions led 4-1 after two periods of play.
Early in the third period, the Beavers would score a power-play goal at 2:07 to make it 4-2. Then at 5:26, again on the power play, the Beavers would make it a one-goal game. Then, late in the period at 17:31 on a power play of their own the Lions would regain a two-goal lead. Antonio would net her hat trick goal, and her 14th of the season, assisted by Teague and Hawryshko. The Lions would go on to win the game 5-3. Despite this, the Beavers outshot the Lions 14-7 in the third for a game total of 43-33. Lions goalie Erica Didocha played well, stopping 40 of 43 shots she faced in the win.
In game two of the series on Saturday, shots and goals were at a premium for the Lions. There was no scoring in the first period, and the Beavers outshot the Lions 12-1 in the opening period.
At 8:44 into the second, the scoreless tie would be broken courtesy of a power play goal by the Beavers. Then, less than a minute later on another power play, the Beavers would score again to make it 2-0. The Beavers outshot the Lions 19-5 in the second period.
Early in the third period, the Beavers would add a third goal at 2:49. At 11:32, the Lions would get on the board with a power play goal by Hawryshko, assisted by Antonio. The Lions would end up losing the game 3-1, with the Beavers outshot the Lions 6-4 in the third and a total of 37-10 in the game. Lions goalie Evi Allerding played well and stopped 34 of 37 shots that she faced in the loss.
After the series with Minot State, the Lions stayed in North Dakota and had a Sunday matinee game with the University of Jamestown. The first goal was scored by the Jimmies at 15:18 on the powerplay. The Lions however would answer back almost right away, with a goal at 16:24, scored by Antonio and assisted by Hawryshko. The game would stay tied heading into the second period, as the Jimmies outshot the Lions 13-12 in the opening period.
The Lions would take the lead very quickly into the second period, the goal was scored 11 seconds in. This goal was also scored by Antonio, giving her 16 goals on the season. The goal was assisted by Hawryshko and Alison Blaskovich. At the nine minute mark, the Jimmies would tie the game back up at two. Then at 12:01 on a power play, the Lions would take the lead back on a goal by Hawryshko, assisted by both Teague and Ava Bilton. The back and forth game would continue, because 54 seconds later the Jimmies would tie the game once again, this time at three. The Lions outshot the Jimmies 16-13 in the second period.
The third period of play saw both teams being held scoreless, meaning that an overtime period was needed. The Jimmies outshot the Lions 13-9 in the third period of play.
In the overtime, once again both teams were held scoreless meaning the game ended in a 3-3 tie. The Lions had the only three shots on goal in the overtime, outshooting the Jimmies 40-39 in the game. Lions goalie Jordan Tung stopped 36 of the 39 shots that she faced in the tie.
With the results of the three games this weekend, the Lions now sit with a record of 6-7-1 on the season. The Lions will return home next Thursday Nov. 7th as they take on the Minot State Beavers, and Nov. 8th as they take on the Jamestown Jimmies, as well as Nov. 9th when they take on the University of Minnesota. All three games will be played at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
