Junior Katelin McLaughlin and sophomore Gina Arnone each had a hat trick and senior Michelle Panella scored two goals as the Sacred Heart Pioneers held off Lindenwood Saturday at Wonderland of Ice.
In a game that featured a virtual parade to the penalty box, 14 of the 16 goals scored came on special teams. Both teams had six power plays in 12 attempts while the Pioneers also scored two shorthanded goals.
The Lions took an early lead when Mandy Dion converted on a spin shot from in front of the net. She took a pass from Veronica Metcalf and flipped the puck into the net.
The Pioneers tied the game at the 15:31 mark when McLaughlin scored Sacred Heart’s first power-play goal of the day from Panella and freshman Sandy Parlato. However, the Lions took a 2-1 lead to the dressing room after Gillian Couture fired a shot that just trickled through the pads of goaltender Stephanie Boulay as time expired.
Sacred Heart came out flying in the second period, scoring three goals in the first 4:10 of the period to open up a 4-2 lead. McLaughlin notched her second goal at the 1:17 mark, pounding home a rebound after Panella’s initial shot was stopped. Arnone got on the scoreboard two minutes in, set up by Kristina Feltz and Whitney Dziama.
Panella and McLaughlin hooked up again 4:10 in, as McLaughlin fed Panella a perfect centering pass from behind the net which Panella finished off for a shorthanded goal. However, the Lions wouldn’t go away as Kristina Leng converted a power-play opportunity 23 seconds later to make it 4-3.
The Pioneers scored another shorthanded goal halfway through the second to reopen a two goal edge. Panella and McLaughlin once again set each other up, with Panella putting the finishing touch on and Devon Gaslin also getting an assist. However, Leng scored another power-play goal with 3:54 left to make it 5-4.
The Pioneers scored two goals in the final 1:29 of the second period to take a 7-4 lead. First, Arnone took a pass from Feltz and fired a shot that rocketed its way into the top right corner of the goal. Sophomore Whitney Dziama scored the seventh goal with 54 seconds left off a pass from Arnone.
Arnone completed her hat trick at the 6:17 mark of the third period. After an initial shot was stopped by Gaslin, Arnone picked up the rebound, spun in front of the net and flipped the puck in.
McLaughlin turned her trick with 6:25 left in the game when she pounded home a loose puck in front. Three minutes later Dziama tallied a goal to finish the scoring for the Pioneers.
