Two games. Two different results. No wins for the Lakers.

The Grand Valley State women’s club hockey team played two tough matches but couldn’t claim a victory over the weekend at the Arrington Ice Arena in Adrian, Mich. Adrian (8-4-5) and GVSU (7-4-2) tied 2-2 on Saturday before the Bulldogs defeated the Lakers on Sunday, 2-1.

The contest on Saturday really got started in the second period when Adrian scored the first two goals of the game. Adrian’s Becca Napoli scored the first goal, while forward Summer Frey added another for the Bulldogs.

Then, the Lakers turned the tide.

“We started creating turnovers and taking away their space and time,” said co-head coach Sean McKernan. “We were able to use our speed to our advantage and close the gap.”

Moments after Adrian’s second goal, GVSU was able to strike when junior Karyn Schmaltz found the back of the net. The shot went five-hole, and the Lakers were only down 2-1 with momentum on their side.

“Being down lit a fire in us,” Schmaltz said. “It was really great seeing us battle back, and we played 10 times better in the second.”

Later in the same period, GVSU center Kendra Myers evened the score at 2-2.

“We stopped playing passively, were a lot less reactive, and played a lot more aggressive,” said senior forward Kristen Iannuzzi.

The third period saw no goals scored but the physicality of the game was amped up. That carried over into the overtime period, which ended in a 2-2 tie.

On Sunday, penalties and powerplay goals were the name of the game.

Adrian struck first again on a first-period powerplay goal by Jessica Fabbro. Then in the second period, Iannuzzi scored on a powerplay goal in front of the net. GVSU’s Alisha Day took a shot that Iannuzzi was able to tip in, tying the game at 1-1.

Neither team was able to get into a flow due to a plethora of penalties, but GVSU played sound hockey for the rest of the game.

Penalties ultimately hurt the Lakers, however, as Adrian was able to score on the man advantage in the third period, securing a 2-1 win for the Bulldogs.

“Adrian is a very defensively sound, physical team,” McKernan said. “They were efficient on the powerplay and capitalized on a late opportunity. We just had one too many penalties.”

Despite the late goal and victory for Adrian, McKernan did see some positives from the way the Lakers played in the final two-thirds of the game.

“The whole second semester is about mental toughness. We expect a level of consistency, and we need to keep that consistency up,” said Iannuzzi. “We have lost a few games, but we’ve been playing great hockey. We’ve got to keep our heads up and keep moving forward.”

GVSU hosts Miami (Ohio) in a series next weekend this weekend at Georgetown Ice Arena.