ADRIAN, Mich. - At the Arrington Ice Arena,
Une Bjelland go-ahead goal in the second period held true as the Adrian women's hockey won its third game in as many days, defeating Lake Forest 3-2.
The victory moves the Bulldogs (13-6-1, 10-1-0 NCHA) three points ahead of the Foresters in the conference standings, and keeps them in the hunt for home ice advantage for the upcoming Slaats Cup Playoffs.
The competition on the ice was as close as the final score would suggest, as both sides turned in a physical and well-choreographed gameplan.
Adrian struck first just under 13 minutes into the first period when
Karmen Anderson found a soft spot under the pads of the Lake Forest netminder, opening the scoring for the evening.
The visitors needed only six minutes to formulate an answer, drawing the score level heading into the first intermission.
In the second period, the Foresters claimed their first, and only lead of the contest, but it would only last for a mere four minutes. At 11:42 of the frame, a fantastic set-up from Brooke Schembir below the goal line found a cutting Anderson, who finished the play with her second goal of the night to the goaltender's short side.
Later on, the Bulldogs garnered a valuable powerplay opportunity, eventually leading to the game's deciding-goal. With the puck cleared out of the home side's attacking zone, Bjelland hustled past center ice to track it down, subsequently turning back up ice where she proceeded to deke a couple of Foresters before firing a shot over the glove hand of Lake Forest's Hannah Turnage.
Despite chances for both sides in the third period, the score remained constant.
Denisa Jandova stopped a total of 11 shots to secure sixth win of the season in goal for Adrian.
The 'Dogs and the Foresters are set to meet again on Tuesday afternoon. Puck-drop from Arrington Ice Arena is slated for 2 p.m.
