The Lake Forest College women's hockey team posted a 3-2 overtime victory over visiting St. Norbert College in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Slaats Cup Final on Saturday. The Foresters will make their first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament next weekend.
The game-winner was scored by junior forward Emily Wybo at the 4:04 mark of overtime (video below). Sophomore forward Holly Lesperance raced up the right side before crossing the puck to Wybo, who lit the lamp for the seventh time this season before being mobbed by her teammates.
Overtime would not have occurred if not for the first goal of the year by senior defenseman Sarah Gilbride with just 4:16 to play in regulation. She skated up the middle of the ice and pushed the puck past the St. Norbert goaltender to tie the game at two.
Lake Forest also scored the first goal of the game with just 9.3 seconds remaining in the opening period. It was junior defenseman Laura Reckdenwald's fourth score of the season and was set up by passes from Wybo and junior defenseman Erin Shamley.
The Green Knights tied the score at the 3:52 mark of the second period and took the lead at 7:48.
Forester senior goaltender Stacey Dierking stopped 33 of 35 shots on goal to earn the victory and extend her career. She is now 9-2-2 with a 2.66 goals against average and .905 save percentage on the year. It was her 34th win in the last four years, two shy of the program record.
Wybo was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player while Lesperance and Reckdenwald were also named to the all-tournament team.
Lake Forest is now 17-5-3 this season while St. Norbert finished with an overall record of 19-7-2. The Foresters' NCAA quarterfinal opponent and game location will be announced on the tournament's selection show on NCAA.com at 9:00 Monday morning (watch).
