Late Goals Lift Women's Hockey Past Marian

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW women's ice hockey team closed conference play with a 3-1 win over the Sabres of Marian to improve to 11-11-2 on the year, and 7-8-1 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play.  

After a scoreless first period, the Falcons lit the lamp in the second period with 16:24 left in the period, as senior Amanda Carney (Aurora, Ont.) found fellow senior Natalia Etter (Boveresse, Switzerland) on CUW's blue line. Etter then connected with junior Megan Vettraino (Howell, Mich.) on a lengthy pass to start the two-on-one break, culminating in Vettraino ripping a shot past the Marian's goaltender's shoulder to secure the 1-0 lead.

But the Sabres would respond with a goal of their own with 9:01 left in the second to level the score at one apiece. 

Once again, the game would become another defensive battle, as neither team found the back of the net for the remainder of the period.

Despite chances, the scoring drought for both teams would persist.

However, with 4:49 remaining in the contest, junior Amanda Bauer (Waunakee, Wis.) started the break for the Falcons as she cleared the puck off the boards and found freshman Ella Tuccitto (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) up the ice. Tuccitto would carry the puck up the right side of the ice as sophomore Makayla Spejcher (Green Bay, Wis.) joined her on the right side, received a pass from Tuccitto, and ripped a shot past the Marian goaltender to put the Falcons up to 2-1. 

Freshman Mackaylan McGown (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) would put away the game and secure the 3-1 lead for CUW, capitalizing on the empty net opportunity on a pass from junior Savannah Hutchins (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.). 

Senior goaltender Annalina Van Hercke (Castle Rock, Colo.) recorded 35 saves in the win. 

Mackaylan McGown won 23 faceoffs, while junior Brooke Gibson (LaSalle, Ont.) totaled 11 faceoffs won. 

The Falcons will close out the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 6th, when they travel to take on the Pointers of UW-Stevens Point before turning their attention to the NCHA Quarterfinals, which are set to start on Feb. 16th.