Keene, N.H. - Women's Ice Hockey travelled down Rt. 9 tonight to compete against Keene State College for an in-conference match up on Saturday night, falling to the Owls 3-1.
Keene State's offense was intense for the first few minutes of the period with two quick shots, one of which was saved by sophomore Anna McGinty (Duxbury, Mass.). The Owls kept possession of the puck for most of the period with 19 of 35 shots on goal. McGinty and the Pilgrims defense were able to keep the score tied at zero after the first 20 minutes.
The momentum stayed with the Owls with six shots in the first two and a half minutes. McGinty saving four and a blocked shot by senior Jordan Pond (Gardner, Mass.). After a Keene power play, they were able to capitalize on an even strength goal scored by Lorelai Norman in the third minute of the period. While being down one they were able to outshoot Keene 17-13 on goal.
Only down one heading into the final period, a penalty was called less than a minute in allowing to NEC go up on a power play. With a faceoff won by KSC and then loss of possession, the 'Grims were able to move the puck up the by junior Alexis Hornsby (Atkinson, N.H.) who found senior Isabella Marzano (Warwick, R.I.) in front of the net and was able to score on the edge of the goalie. This was Marzano's first goal of the year. Ending the powerplay, and back to full strength, the Owls regained their lead less than a minute later. The two teams exchanged shots until Brianna Finke ended up successfully adding cushion to her teams' lead. NEC was unable to find the net again and fell to 4-7 in LEC play.
The team is back in action tomorrow at 5:30 for game two against the Owls at Keene Ice.
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