The Keene State Women’s Hockey team won another overtime game against Rivier University, their first home victory.
The Owls played at their home rink on November 16. Rivier went into its second game against the Owls, coming off a 5-1 loss the night before.
The first period ended scoreless, but both teams took many attempts to score first. KSC took 10 shots on goal while Rivier managed to shoot seven, all of which were blocked or saved by the opposing goalies.
KSC had two power plays, both leading to two shots on goal each. Rivier had three power plays, which resulted in four shots total taken on goal.
The Owls swooped in and got their lead in the second period, ending in a 1-0 score, where first-year forward Ava Iantosca scored at 16:24, assisted by first-year forward Molly Price.
Although nine more shots were taken by KSC, none were successful.They kept their lead despite Rivier taking 22 shots that period. KSC’s first-year goalkeeper Ai Chung held her ground, along with the Owls defense to keep their lead against the Raiders.
KSC had no power plays during this period. Rivier only had one, but they kept up their aggressive tactics and attempted five shots on goal, none to tie the game.
The Raiders came back in the third period hungry for the win, and ended regulation with a score of 1-1, leading the teams into another overtime.
Rivier took seven shots, their only goal scored by Rebecca Mckelvey at 19:28 at the end of their only power play of the period, assisted by Jillian Hallee, leaving no opportunity for the Owls to take back the win before going into overtime.
The last time the Owls went into overtime was when they faced PSU on Nov. 2, but this one ended with first-year Brianna Finke scoring another game-winning goal at 3:45, winning the game 2-1 and giving the team a 3-2 record.
Both teams competed hard for the win, KSC taking 32 total shots on goal and Rivier taking 37.
Chung had 36 saves, making her season total 62 with a save percent of .969%. The opposing goalie Rachel Symmes had 30 saves of her own.
Iantosca won 14 faceoffs, totaling exactly half of KSC’s faceoff victories. Senior Paige Henault won seven, first-year Camden Ladzinski won three, and first-year Ellie Patrick won two.
After another close game, the Owls play their next game against Nichols College’s Bisons on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at home.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hdoda@kscequinox.com
