Seniors Provide Full Contribution in Senior Night Victory over Raiders

Worcester, MA- After locking up the MASCAC regular season title and the one seed in the post season tournament after a 1-0 victory in the road last night versus Salem State, the Worcester State Women's Ice Hockey team (15-9, 9-2) returned to the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center for their senior day meeting with the Raiders. In their final game of the regular season the Lancers honored seniors Cailey Ryan (Acton, MA), Lea Gaspar (Chelmsford, MA), Olivia Fehl (Sergeant Bluff, IA) and Kelsey Czerniawski (Chicopee, MA) prior to the puck drop.

Final

Worcester State: 3

Rivier: 2

How it Happened:

The game opened with high energy as both teams tested each other's defenses during a scoreless first quarter. Both sides kept the anticipation high, trading shot attempts but ultimately keeping the game even 0-0 between the Lancers and the Raiders heading into the second period. Worcester and Rivier would each claim two penalties in the opening period and be nearly equal on shots with Worcester claiming 11 to the Raiders nine in what has quickly become a classic battle between the two teams.

Momentum picked up in the second period with both teams ramping up offensively. Shot attempts continued to pile up on both sides, with Rivier taking the 19 to 13 advantage, causing the Raiders to break  through, scoring two goals, one early on from Lexi Davies and the second in the last minutes from Chloe Bryda. The score stands in favor of Rivier 0-2 with Worcester hoping to get on the scoreboard in the third period. 

In an intense final period, the Lancers kept the energy up and refused to let the game slip away from them. With intense effort from the offense, Worcester was able to threaten Rivier's lead. Worcester's Gaspar got the puck warmed up with the net early in the period off the slips from junior Abbey Millman(Georgetown, MA) and sophomore Emily Johns (Clinton, MA), while the defense stopped the Raiders from scoring further. Johns tied up the game 2-2 with just four minutes to spare, making both teams get even more aggressive at the net. Avoiding overtime, Ryan scored the final goal for Worcester 30 seconds before the buzzer, again off a Millman assist and Fehl addition,  giving the Lancers the 3-2 win. 

Czneriawski would record 34 saves in the comeback victory.

What's Next:

The Blue and Gold (16-9, 10-2) with the top seed in the tournament will await the final outcomes of first round games to determine their opponent for next Friday, February 27th at 7:20pm at the Worcester Ice Center.