PITTSBURGH, PA – For the second time in as many days, the Wilkes women's ice hockey team picked up a crucial conference victory over Chatham University on Saturday afternoon at the Hunt Armory.
The win boosted the Colonels' record to 8-6-1 overall and 6-6-1 in the UCHC. Chatham dropped to 8-3-2 on the season and 6-3-1 in conference play.
After a series of offensive zone pressure, the Colonels were rewarded with the first power play of the game at 6:07 of the first period. Chatham was stingy on the kill, allowing only one net to reach their goaltender.
Following a lengthy sequence of back-and-forth action after the penalty expired, Wilkes netminder Audrey Milne made a crucial stop on a Cougar skater who had snuck through the defense. Her efforts kept both teams searching for the first goal of the game with under nine minutes to go in the first.
After a successful Wilkes penalty kill, a neutral zone faceoff led to a golden scoring chance for Haylee Bouchard. The first year weaved through traffic and found herself on a partial breakaway, however her shot was turned aside.
As the end of the first period neared, Chatham mustered another burs of puck possession in a bid to take a late lead into the intermission. Milne stood tall, stopping three shots in short succession. After 20 minutes of play, both teams remained knotted in a scoreless tie. Shots were even at 11 apiece.
Chatham finally broke through at 9:25 of the second period, finding the back of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Wilkes answered back just over two minutes later when Bouchard fired a close range, off-balance shot while crashing the net that beat the goaltender and evened the score back up at 1-1.
The Colonels took their first lead of the afternoon when Amanda Spreadbury picked up a pass near the blue line and took the puck towards goal with a wide open breakaway. She beat the goalie glove-side to put Wilkes up 2-1 with 3:22 to go in the middle frame.
Neither team lit the lamp for the remainder of the period, allowing the Colonels to return to the dressing room up a goal with one period to go.
Wilkes drew a tripping penalty at 10:35 into the final frame, sending the team to their third man advantage of the game. The power play unit fired two shots on goal that were stopped by Chatham's goaltender.
With 5:10 remaining in regulation, the Colonels drew yet another penalty and looked to put the game out of the Cougar's reach. Down a skater, Chatham defended well and prevented Wilkes from notching an insurance goal.
The Cougars elected to pull their goalie as time continued to tick down, however the Colonels did a good job preventing them from setting up in the attack zone. One final clear towards the empty net sealed the deal for Wilkes as they came away with a 2-1 victory.
Spreadbury notched her seventh goal of the season and recorded a team-high six shots on goal while Bouchard notched the decisive second goal. Tilly Wierdsma led the team with ten shots, while Jordan Ferry won 14 faceoffs and Milne made 21 saves on the evening.
The victory for Milne made her the program's all-time wins leader with her seventh of the season and career for the first-year student-athlete.
Chatham was led by Allison Corser-Jones, who scored the Cougars' lone goal and recorded seven shots on goal. Erin Carter made four blocks and Sam Brophy turned aside 25 shots in the loss.
The Colonels return to the ice on Friday, January 19 when they host Stevenson University in the team's first home game of 2024. Puck drop against the Mustangs is set for 5:00 p.m.