SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team was within one goal of first-place Long Island University deep into the third period of a 3-1 loss on Friday evening during New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) play at Cairns Arena.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-15, 0-13 NEWHA), LIU (13-5, 13-0 NEWHA)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADER

• Senior Mary Leys (Newport, R.I./Saint George's School), 1 goal
• Senior Jace Zapata (Brea, Calif./Gentry Academy), 1 assist, 4 blocked shots
• Sophomore Annika Lavender (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), 34 saves
• Sophomore Elisabeth Gerebi (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen), 11-for-20 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Mikayla Lantto, 2 goals, +3
• Sophomore Emma Mörtl, 2 assists
• Sophomore Paige Vreeman, 2 assists
• Junior Mary Rachel Lenaeus, 1 goal
• First-year Clara Kammholz, 23 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights were outshot for the game, 37-24, but only 24-20 over the final two periods.
• Eight of the Purple and Gold's losses have come by two goals or fewer.
• LIU entered the night one of three teams from a Division I conference with an unbeaten league record.

THE ACTION

• Lenaeus put the Sharks in front 3:39 after the game's opening faceoff, slipping a shot above the left circle through a screen after taking Mörtl's drop pass.
• Lantto made it 2-0 at 14:05, tapping in Vreeman's pass from below the goal line.
• Senior Courtney Kelly (Dorchester, Mass./Boston Latin School) nearly got one back for the hosts with 10:40 gone in the second period, taking sophomore Emersynn McGillis' (Ottawa, Ontario/Nepean Jr. Wildcats) stretch pass to get behind the defense for a breakaway, but Kammholz waited out her move at the right post.
• Leys had a good look from the slot at 16:30, but Kammholz made a denial with her left pad.
• Early in the third frame, Zapata's pass up the seam sprung Leys for a breakaway. After her initial close-range shot was stopped, Leys chipped a rebound over Kammholz to make it 2-1 with only 1:41 gone.
• Lavender turned away first-year Grace Babington's one-timer from the left circle at 12:35 to keep it a one-goal affair, but Lantto tallied only 1:16 later, gaining a head of steam from neutral ice and cutting through the left circle before finishing out front to the goalie's glove side.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. LIU, 3:10 p.m.