St. Lawrence goaltender Rachel Barrie and Niagara counterpart Tania Pinelli stopped almost every chance, each making 29 saves as the Saints came back after being down a goal for two periods to tie 1-1 Friday night.
A record crowd of 908 at Appleton Arena saw the battle, setting an NCAA women’s record for attendance at SLU.
The crowd knew it was in for a great game from the drop of the puck. The first period was scoreless until 18:53, when Niagara’s Valerie Hall tipped in Barbara Prall’s shot from the point on a power play, putting Niagara up 1-0 going into the second period.
Though the second period was scoreless, the Saints generated multiple scoring opportunities; Pinelli made great saves and the Saints just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Amanda Sargeant changed that 10 minutes into the third period on a power-play goal, tying the game at one. Sargeant walked out from behind the net, waited until Pinelli went down and roofed the puck over her shoulder. Ricki-Lee Doyle and Shannon Smith were allotted assists.
Barrie, the first star of the game, made highlight-film saves, keeping the game at 1-1. Despite outshooting Niagara 10-6 in the third and 2-0 in OT, the Saints were unable to get the game-winning goal.