The Lake Forest College women's hockey team won 2-1 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday, meaning that Sunday's contest between the two teams will decide the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association championship. Freshman Michelle Greeneway scored both of the Foresters' goals.
Greeneway broke a scoreless tie with a power play goal at 16:33 in the second period. She was assisted by sophomore Torey Crown and freshman Alex Stensland.
River Falls tied the score just 29 seconds into the third period. It was the only goal allowed by Forester junior goaltender Stacey Dierking, who matched her career-high with 41 saves in the game. She improved to 12-2-0 on the season with a 1.57 goals against average and .943 save percentage.
Greeneway netted what proved to be her fifth game-winning goal of the season at 7:51. Her team-high league-high 23rd score of the year was assisted by sophomore Laura Reckdenwald and senior Jenn Caldwell.
The Falcons pulled their goalie with 58 seconds remaining but were unable to tie the score again.
The Foresters raised their overall record to 15-4-4 and their NCHA mark to 12-3-4. River Falls, the nation's fifth-ranked team, fell to 17-5-2 overall and 14-3-2 in the league with a conference-high 30 points. Adrian College, which has already completed its regular season schedule, is next with 29 points and Lake Forest has 28.
The Falcons will host the Foresters against Sunday afternoon at 2:05 and the winner will be the NCHA's regular season champion. River Falls would also clinch the title with a tie.