NCHA Regular Season Title Eludes Foresters at Adrian

Photo by Matt Weidner
Photo by Matt Weidner

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.