DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque women's hockey team faced off against St. Norbert College in their home opener on Friday afternoon at ImOn Arena. The Spartans were tied through two periods 1-1 before allowing a pair of goals in the third for the final score 3-1.

St. Norbert struck first, taking an early lead with a goal at 2:52 in the opening period. The Spartans responded with intensity, leveling the score at 9:30 when Aleah Giddings took control, skating past her defenders for an unassisted goal to tie the game 1-1. Giddings goal was the first for her in a Spartans uniform.

The second period saw a defensive stand by the Spartans for goalkeeper Savannah Wuitschick, who made 13 saves to keep the score even. St. Norbert regained momentum quickly in the third, scoring just 15 seconds into the third period to reclaim the lead at 2-1. The Spartans fired off four shots on goal in the third, but failed to find the back of the net to end the game in favor of St. Norbert 3-1. UD ended the afternoon with five shots in the first period, four in the second, and four in the third period. Aleah Giddings led with four shots and Madigan Depuydt finished with two shots. Nine Spartans grabbed a shot in the loss. The duo of Ava Dedrick and Arwen Sims won four faceoffs each and Zoe Cupples won three faceoffs for the Spartans. A clean game, saw just eight penalties called among the two squads (3-6 minutes for SNC and 5-10 minutes for UD).

Savannah Wuitschick played all 60 minutes in goal and compiled 37 saves (13 saves in period 1, 13 in period 2, and 11 in period 3). Madigan Depuydt deflected eight blocks to help on the defensive side.

Up Next - The Spartans (0-2-0 overall, 0-1-0 in NCHA) will be back on the ice at ImOn Arena Saturday, Nov. 9th at 2:00 p.m. for game two of the weekend series against St. Norbert College who have been receiving votes in the early season rankings (3-0-0 overall, 1-0-0 in NCHA).