Lake Forest sophomore forward Amanda Brunges scored her first career shorthanded goal but the Forester women's hockey team was edged out 2-1 at Adrian College on Saturday in a game that decided the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association's regular season champion.
The teams entered the regular season finale tied atop the NCHA standings.
Adrian took the early lead on a power play goal three minutes and 27 seconds into the contest. The home team was on the power play again at the 17:26 mark when Forester sophomore forward Amanda Brunges tied the score on her seventh goal of the season. Brunges was assisted by senior forward Holly Lesperance.
The score remained 1-1 until the Bulldogs scored while shorthanded at the 14:02 mark of the second period. It turned out to be the final goal of the game.
The visitors were out-shot 46-19 on the day but Forester senior goaltender Allie Carter made a career-high 44 saves to improve her save percentage on the season to .947, which ranks 10th in the nation.
Lake Forest fell to 20-3-2 overall and 15-2-1 in NCHA play while Adrian improved to 22-2-1 overall and 16-1-1 in the league.
The Foresters will host St. Norbert College in next weekend's NCHA Slaats Cup semifinal series. The teams will face off Friday night at 7:00 and again at 3:00 Saturday afternoon. Adrian will host the College of St. Scholastica in the other semifinal series.
