By Kaitlin Goodenough, Saint Reporter

Photos courtesy of Kaitlin Goodenough

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.— The Aquinas College Women’s Ice Hockey team took a hard loss at the Georgetown Ice Arena against Grand Valley State University (GVSU) on Friday Nov. 16.

The Saints have had a rocky season so far, sitting at a 1-11 season with 14 games left. They are currently 0-8 in conference games.

Although the Lady Saints have taken some tough losses, senior forward, Kelli Adrian, remains hopeful for the remainder of the season. “Looking forward I hope we can grow as a team and move past the losses,” said Adrian. “We just need to take it one game at a time.”

Senior Forward Kelli Adrian in action for the Lady Saints

The Georgetown Ice Arena housed both Aquinas Saints and GVSU Lakers fans that came to watch the two Women’s Ice Hockey teams face off. It started off as a fairly even game, but GVSU eventually picked up momentum and beat Aquinas 7-1.

The Saints gained possession as the first period began. GVSU quickly took control and moved the puck down the ice to get several shots off. GVSU had a lot of puck movement, which allowed for many shot opportunities.

Aquinas goaltender, Sophomore Ally Kennedy, blocked several shot attempts by GVSU in the first period. However, that didn’t stop GVSU from scoring about four minutes into the period. With that goal the Lakers took a quick lead and set the pace for the rest of the game.

Sophomore Goaltender Ally Kennedy had a busy night for AQ

The Saints struggled to move the puck down the ice into scoring position throughout the game. As a result, they played a lot of defense and were only able to get 12 shots off in total. GVSU outshot the Saints with a total of 47 shots.

At just under five minutes left in the first period, Junior forward, Ashley Reese made a shot for the Saints, tying the score at 1-1. GVSU responded very quickly with another goal, regaining the lead and taking the score to 2-1 at the end of the first period.

In the second period, GVSU wasted no time, scoring almost instantly pushing the score to 3-1. The Saints responded by applying more pressure and taking the puck down the ice for several shot opportunities. While the Saints were able to get some shots off, none made it past GVSU’s goaltender, Morgan Lang.

The Saints continued to fall behind with the Lakers hitting two more goals, one around the eight-minute mark and the other with three minutes left in the second period. This brought the score to 5-1.

Once again in the third period the Saints had a few shot opportunities, but none were successful. GVSU scored two more times in the third period, ending the game with a score of 7-1.

The Aquinas Women’s Ice Hockey Team is coached by head coach, Katie O’Brien and assistant coaches Alisha Day, Kristen Lothschutz and Marlowe Pentecost. Moving forward the Saints are “Working on being more cohesive and supportive of each other both on and off the ice,” said Adrian. The Saints have their next game against Michigan State University at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the Byron Center Ice Arena.