The No. 8 Grand Valley State University Division 1 women’s hockey club lost a 2-5 home matchup against the Arizona State University Sun Devils on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Griff’s Georgetown Ice Arena. The day before, Friday, Feb. 14, the Lakers lost 2-4 to the Sun Devils, who are No. 1 out of independent league teams. Saturday’s game was also Promotion Night, and open skate was offered for the community and young women aspiring to play hockey.
In a male-dominated sport, the Lakers sought to promote women’s hockey and bring awareness to the program through Promotion Night activities.
“I think it’s really important to bring awareness to women’s hockey in general because not many people play women’s hockey,” said freshman defense Ella Campbell. “If more people learn about it and want to play, it could become a bigger organization as a whole.”
The first few minutes into the period offered back-and-forth play, as the teams fought for possession of the puck. GVSU produced the first odd-man rush eight minutes into the period, forcing Sun Devil goaltender Quinn Eatinger to make a big save. The Sun Devils reciprocated the offensive zone pressure by producing three back-to-back shots on goal for sophomore goaltender Emily Carson to shut down. Then, Sun Devil Kylie Brown had a one-on-one breakaway down the ice with Carson, and placed the first goal on the board.
After the goal, Arizona State continued pressuring the offensive zone, and tested the Lakers’ defense. With a minute left in the period, freshman forward Peyton Wysocki took a shot that deflected off Eatinger, which allowed sophomore forward Faith Kubacik to rebound with a wrist shot in the back of the net. This placed the Lakers on the board. At the end of the first period, the Lakers had five shots on goal, compared to the Sun Devils’ 12. At an even score of 1-1, it was anyone’s game.
Arizona State generated the game’s first penalty just a few seconds into the start of the second period, but the Lakers could not execute with the man advantage. The Sun Devils dominated the Lakers’ defensive zone and put up three shots on goal, but the fourth snuck by Carson and gave the Devils the lead. Immediately after, the Lakers won the face-off at center ice, and stormed down the rink. They attempted a shot on goal, but were unsuccessful. Arizona State had possession of the puck for most of the period, as their defensive line dominated the neutral zone, making it hard for GVSU to get the puck out of the zone and make a shift change. Eager to tie the game, senior forward Abby Rubsam gambled with a lobbed puck from the blue line that somehow found the back of the net. The goal was assisted by junior forward Julia Gebeck, and kept the Lakers in the game.
With three minutes left in the period, the Sun Devils capitalized on another lead, which was scored by Sam Murphy. In retaliation, the Lakers drew a roughing penalty with two minutes of play and Carson made four crucial saves to maintain the one-goal deficit.
The third period had a total of six penalties from both teams, but the Sun Devils were the only ones to capitalize on the man advantage. On a Laker penalty kill, the Sun Devils took advantage of an extra skater,and buried a goal in the back of the net with just a few seconds left in the power play. Shortly after, the Lakers drew another penalty, which resulted in another Arizona State goal. The Lakers struggled to stay out of the penalty box, which cost them the game.
The Lakers ended the regular season 9-19-2. Team captain and lead goal scorer Abbey McCallion reflected on the team’s positive aspects as they head into post-season play.
“We come together very well in tight situations,” said McCallion.“We’ve had a lot of third-period comebacks recently, and having that energy in the locker room before the game is something we do well.”
The Lakers begin post-season play on Thursday, Feb. 20 in Livonia for the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA) Conference Tournament at Eddie Edgar Ice Arena.
