GENEVA, Ill. – The Trine University women's hockey team kept the game close, but their hosts from Aurora University were too much handing them a 4-1 loss.
The Spartans would score the lone goal of the first period. The 1-0 lead represented a strong defensive effort by the Thunder, who were outshouted 22-6 in the period.
The Thunder would strike first in the second period. In the eighth minute junior Grace Hicks made a strong play to keep the puck in the offensive zone, before passing it to the other side of the ice where sophomore Anabelle Scriver collected it before moving in toward the goal. She passed the puck in toward the net where it bounced off of junior Taryn Raisanen and settled on the ice just outside of the crease. Sophomore Kailey Mleko was able to get her stick on it and put it past the goalie to make the score 1-1.
The tie lasted until the 15th minute of the same period when Aurora scored their second goal of the game. Surrendering just the one goal was again a strong defensive performance for the Thunder who once again faced 22 shots from the home team.
For the third period freshman Casey Frank was tasked with 22 shots bringing her total for the game to 66 shots faced. Two goals found the back of the net for the Spartans and Frank ended the game with 62 saves, despite the 4-1 loss.
The Thunder fall to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play following the loss. They will look to bounce back tomorrow, Saturday, January 28 when they once again faceoff with Aurora. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:35 p.m. ET.