Senior defenseman Kayla Griffith tied the score with 8:34 to play in regulation but Adrian College went on to defeat the visiting Lake Forest College women's hockey team 4-3 in overtime in Saturday night's Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Slaats Cup Championship Game.
Griffith's goal was her ninth of the season and she was assisted by sophomore forward Lexi Morgan and senior forward Olivia Spellmire, who broke her own program record for assists in a season on the play.
The score remained 3-3 until the Bulldogs scored after 15 minutes of sudden-death overtime.
Both team lit the lamp once in each of the first three periods, beginning with Forester junior forward Amy Budde's 17th score of the season at 4:52 in the first. She was assisted by a pair of sophomores, defenseman Amanda Boisjolie and forward Sydney Simone, whose 26 assists on the season are the third-highest total in team history. Budde finished her third year as a Forester ranked fifth in school history with 98 career points.
Adrian finally got on the scoreboard with 1:33 remaining in the first period and took the lead for the first time on a power play score at 11:57 in the second.
The home team's lead was short-lived, however, as the Foresters pulled even just 97 seconds later on Morgan's 22nd goal of the season, a total that ranks tied-for-sixth in team annals. Spellmire and freshman forward Megan Lyke set up the score.
Adrian regained the lead at the 4:19 mark of the third period and was ahead for more than seven minutes before Griffith's goal. The teams were tied for more than 52 of the game's 75 minutes.
The Foresters had an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal in the opening period but, perhaps felling the effects of another overtime game the night before, were out-shot 10-9 in the second, 16-8 in the third, and 8-2 in overtime.
Budde and Spellmire were named to the NCHA Slaats Cup Playoff All-Tournament Team with Spellmire earning the event's Most Valuable Player award. She scored both of Lake Forest's goals on Friday and assisted on two of the visitors' three scores in the final. Spellmire, who was also named NCHA Player of the Year on Wednesday for her performance in the regular season, finished 2017-18 with a league-high 23 goals and 28 assists. Her goal total ranks tied-for-fourth in program history, the assist total is one more than the previous school record she set as a sophomore, and her 51 points rank second. Spellmire is also the program record-holder for career assists with 79 and ranks second in team history with 132 points and tied-for-third with 53 goals.
The loss snapped Lake Forest's winning streak at 11 games and the Foresters finished the season with an overall mark of 20-9-0. Adrian, the sixth-ranked team in the nation, will enter next weekend's quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at 22-5-1.
Spellmire and Griffith will be joined by fellow seniors Amanda Brunges, Melissa Bodine, and Caroline Campbell at graduation in May. They have combined for 326 points on 116 goals and 210 assists while helping lead the team to a 75-28-7 record over the last four years.
