GENEVA, Ill. -- The Trine University women's hockey team came up just short in the opening round of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Slaats Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 loss to Aurora University.
Both defenses held strong through the first half of the game. The Spartans finally broke the stalemate in the 14th minute of the second period with the first goal of the game. The 1-0 lead would last through the second intermission and into the final minute of play.
With just over a minute remaining in the contest the Thunder pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. They were unable to score, and the opposition sealed the win with an empty-net goal with just seven seconds remaining.
Junior Emily Nettesheim (Hartland, Wis.) played a fantastic game in net for Trine coming up with 39 saves and allowing just one goal.
Offensively senior Kirsten Vandenheuvel (Denfield, Ontario) led the way offensively for the Thunder with seven shots on goal in the contest.
Trine finishes the season 4-11 overall and 2-6 in NCHA play.