SALEM, Mass. - A third-period goal from Lila Whitney (Canton, Conn.) propelled the Albertus Magnus College women's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over Lebanon Valley on Friday evening on the campus of Salem State University during the Viking Cup semifinals.
Whitney's goal, the first of her career, came at the 13:02 mark in the final period.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 3 | Lebanon Valley 2
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (2-9-2) | Lebanon Valley (3-8)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first period saw the Falcons kill three power-play opportunities for Lebanon Valley as Christmas Johnson (Winnipeg, Manitoba) stopped all nine shots she faced in the first 20 minutes. The Falcons would get on the board first, courtesy of Molly Martin (Buffalo, N.Y.) at the 8:27 mark. After Johnson stopped a shot on the other end, Martin raced down the ice on a 3-on-1 breakaway and fired a shot past Lebanon Valley goaltender, Mia Frisoni to put the Falcons up, 1-0.
While Albertus held Lebanon Valley scoreless through the first period, the Flying Dutchmen got on the board just 1:36 into the second period as Brenna Mulcahy found a puck in front of the net and put it home to tie the game at 1-1. At the 8:01 mark, Lebanon Valley capitalized on the power play - the fifth one at that point - on a goal from Jess Dawe.
Just over three minutes after the Falcons faced their first deficit of the game, Gabriella Dellacroce (Woodbridge, Conn.) evened the game on a power-play goal for Albertus. Martin found an open Dellacroce who skated a few feet forward and ripped a shot that hit Frisoni, but trickled into the net at the 11:11 mark. It was the second goal of the season for Dellacroce. Johnson stopped 15 shots in the period for Albertus.
Whitney's heroics in the third period came in the third period as Isabella Contreras (Surprise, Az.) won a faceoff that went right to Whitney, who fired over the glove of Firsoni to give Albertus the lead for good. In net, Johnson stopped all 13 shots in the period as Albertus killed two power plays in the final 20 minutes.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Christmas Johnson (W, 2-6-1) 38 Shots | 36 Saves | 2 Goals Allowed
Lebanon Valley: Mia Frisoni (L, 2-4) 23 Shots | 20 Saves | 3 Goals Allowed
BY THE NUMBERS
Penalties/Minutes
Albertus 8/16 | Lebanon Valley 7/14
Power Play Goals/Opportunities
Albertus: 1/7 | Lebanon Valley 1/8
NOTEWORTHY
- Kayla Clark (Avon, Conn.) finished with an assist and also won a team-high seven faceoffs.
- Molly Martin finished with a goal and an assist. It was her fourth multipoint game of the season.
UP NEXT
Albertus will face host school Salem State in the finals of the Viking Cup on Saturday at 4 p.m.
