DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque women's hockey team took to their home ice Friday night in a match-up with Milwaukee School of Engineering. It was an exciting night of hockey with Dani Denhof leading the charge with two goals for UD. Unfortunately, the Spartans fell in a 4-3 overtime thriller.
The first period of the game ended 0-0 with Molly Jex making 16 saves. The second period looked set to be a repeat of the first early on, with the score stuck at 0-0 until MSOE scored twice in a short span of time. Despite the setback, the Spartans had a rallying cry when, with six minutes left in the period, UD went on he power play and made the most of it. After two shot attempts by UD, Madilynn Schiile got the puck and shot it at point-blank range, slipping the puck past the goalkeeper to make it 2-1 with five minutes on the clock.
At the start of the third period, the game was well within reach for the Spartans, who picked up momentum. Applying pressure, UD equalized the score four minutes into the third period, where Dani Denhof took advantage of her one-on-one matchup and caught the goalkeeper off guard to score a great goal to even the score 2-2. The lead didn't last long as shortly after it was 3-2 in the Raiders' favor, but the Spartans rallied once again. It was Denhof once more who found the back of the net with a great effort on the assist from Madilynn Schiile. All tied up at 3-3 at the end of regulation, the Spartans and Raiders went into overtime.
The extra time was back-and-forth as both teams had great looks. With only a minute left in overtime, it was the Spartans who were unlucky as they fell 4-3.
Leading the Spartans on the night was Dani Denhof with two goals, and Madilynn Schiile, who had a goal and an assist. Natalie Meeder led the team in shooting with seven shots, and Denhof with four. Defensively, Alexandria Simmons had four blocks, with Lauren Jeffery and Denhof each having two blocks. Molly Jex had a strong performance in goal with 42 saves in a close contest.
Up Next
The Spartans will travel to Milwaukee to face the Raiders tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, at 5:00 p.m. The game will be played at the Kern Center.
