School record unbeaten streak comes to end for Women's Hockey at LFC

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Lake Forest College built a 3-0 lead after one period, and extended its lead to 5-0 in the second, before three unanswered goals by Concordia University Wisconsin, to down the Falcons 5-3 in NCHA Women's Hockey play Friday night.

The loss snaps the Falcons six-game unbeaten streak, which was a program record. It also means CUW is locked into the No. 5 seed for Slaats Cup Playoffs, which is scheduled to begin next weekend. CUW will visit St. Scholastica for an opening round game next weekend.

The Foresters went up 3-0 in the first period thanks to goals by Allie Girard, Michelle Greeneway and Melissa Paluch. LFC had a 15-6 edge in shots over the first 20 minutes, controlling much of the opening action.

The Falcons would fall behind 5-0 in the second after Foresters' goals by Morgan Pope (power play) and Greenway. Emily Heckendorf (Merrill, Wis.) would get CUW on the board with 1:21 to go in the second period, scoring on a goal assisted by junior Alexis Machuga (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and freshman Lexi Holman (Cold Spring, Minn.).

The third period saw the Falcons score twice, coming from senior Sammi Reiter (Stillwater, Minn.) and junior Chelsea Regan (Oakdale, Minn.). Sophomore Brandi Muller (Anchorage, Alaska) assisted on Reiter's score, while Heckendorf and Machuga added helpers on the Regan score. Machuga now has 17 assists this season and has surpassed the 20-point plateau.

Senior Andrea Mizanskey (Palos Heights, Ill.) finished the game with 35 saves, including stopping all 13 shots in the third period. Allie Carter got the win for the Foresters while making 23 saves.

The two teams combined for 18 penalty minutes with the Falcons being whistled five times for 10 minutes, while Lake Forest spent eight minutes in the box on four infractions. The Foresters finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play, while CUW was scoreless on three power play chances.

The Falcons will conclude their regular season schedule tomorrow night in a game at fourth-ranked Adrian. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. eastern time.