An historic win, then a thrilling loss

by Madison Leslie

The sticks clacked together as the puck hit the ice to start up game two versus Saint A’s after a historic win for the Women’s Franklin Pierce Ravens Ice Hockey. Tensions were high and the Hawks were fired up after their loss while, the Ravens were performing at the same high energy.

The first two periods were back and forth; but scoreless. Both teams battled to control the puck. The arena remained cold and the game had the fans fidgeting and tense as neither of their teams could get on the score board.

(Photo: WIH Instagram)

In the 3rd period, the 9:54 mark, Katelyn Brightbill broke the ice scoring with her first collegiate goal to put the Ravens on the board. The crowd erupted. Reece Diener, an injured player and Brightbill’s roommate, cheered from the media box. The players embraced each other with huge smiles with a sense of relief. The Hawks responded with their own goal 2 minutes and 16 seconds later.

Neither of the birds could score and the game went into overtime. One could feel the anxiety of the parents and friends in the arena. These teams have had a history of high competition.

Overtime began with the teams playing with a sense of desperation at the start. The Ravens were on a power play at 4 minutes in, with a minute left in overtime. But the Hawks shot with 50 seconds left and the puck went top shelf hitting the crossbar to win the game.