ASTON, Pa - The Neumann University women's ice hockey team found its way back into the win column on Friday evening, picking up its first United College Hockey Conference (UCHC) victory of the season with a 3-1 win over visiting Lebanon Valley College.
 
Kyleigh Prance, Jordyn Cholish and Katelyn Brown all scored in the win, while Helen Cooney was outstanding in goal with 22 saves.
 
Neumann doubled up the Flying Dutchmen in shots in the opening period on its way to an early lead. The Knights broke through with the game's first goal at the 12:33 mark of the frame. Mollie Johnson started the play by keeping the puck in the attacking zone, finding Syd Ladwig in the slot. Ladwig then directed a shot towards the visiting goal that was saved, only to be buried by Prance on the rebound to put the Knights up 1-0. The score remained the same heading to the first intermission.
 
The Knights added to their lead in the second stanza using a power play to their advantage. After some sustained pressure in the Lebanon Valley zone, Cholish found the puck along the side boards and ripped home her third goal of the season to put the hosts up by a pair. The two-goal lead was short-lived though, as the Flying Dutchmen finally solved Cooney on a man-advantage of their own to make the score 2-1 as the game moved to the third period.
 
Up by a goal in the final frame, the game went exactly to plan for Neumann in the last 20 minutes. In a period that saw no penalties and very few stoppages, the Knights used solid team defense to keep Lebanon Valley off the board. The visitors pulled their goalie late in the game looking to tie the contest up, but Brown made them pay with an empty netter as time expired to seal the 3–1 conference win for Neumann. Shots for the game finished 47-23 in favor of the Knights.
 
Neumann (2-8-0, 1-6-0 UCHC) will head to the holiday break with a bit of momentum as it looks to climb up the UCHC standings. The Knights will have a month off before returning to the ice on Friday, January 4th versus Sacred Heart University. The non-conference matchup is scheduled for 7:00 PM.