BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's ice hockey team claimed a 2-1 victory over Morrisville State in the opening game of a weekend series against the Mustangs on Friday night at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
Endicott freshman forward Lexi Klein (Shoreview, Minn.) opened up the scoring at the 8:12 mark of the first period when she fired a wrist shot from the slot that beat Renee Schmaltz (Beaumont, Alberta) glove side for a 1-0 advantage. Maggie Layo (Sandwich, Mass.) and Caroline Hughes (Andover, Mass.) were both credited with assists on the tally.
In the second, Meredith Vlachos (East Bridgewater, Mass.) bumped the Gulls' lead to 2-0 at 15:58 after she put home her own rebound near the left post for her third goal of the season.
Morrisville St. went on to cut its deficit in half late in the third (15:51) on Maria deWilde's (Caistorville, Ontario) sixth goal of the season, but the Mustangs' rally fell just short as Endicott goaltender Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) made three saves down the stretch, including a smooth right pad save on a shot through traffic with about five seconds to play.
Jonsson finished with 21 saves to improve her record to 9-5-3 on the season, while Schmaltz stopped in 32 shots in the loss (6-8-2).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With tonight's win, the Gulls now sit in second place in the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) standings.
- Endicott is now 4-3-2 at home this season.
- The Gulls outshot Morrisville St in every period for a 34-22 advantage overall.
FOR THE FOES
- deWilde buried her goal at the 15:51 mark of the third by firing a loose puck near the crease past Jonsson.
- Kelley Graham (Mississauga, Ontario) and deWilde led all student-athletes with 12 faceoff wins.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (11-6-3, 7-1-1 CHC) will host Morrisville State (7-11-2, 7-1-1 CHC) tomorrow at Raymond J. Bourque Arena in the final matchup of the two-game series at 1 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.