ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University women's ice hockey team opened its United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) slate with a come from behind 4-3 victory over visiting Alvernia University on Friday afternoon.
 
Neumann's top line of Claudia Trionfo (1 g, 2 a), Katelyn Brown (1 g, 1 a) and Jeannie Paddon was the difference on the afternoon for the Knights in the win. Braeden Ott also scored for Neumann, who received 29 saves from goalie Helen Cooney.
 
Things did not start as planned for the Knights as the team fell behind early. The Golden Wolves broke through with the game's first goal at 1:46 then doubled their lead just a minute later to take a 2-0 lead just 2:34 into the game. Neumann found its skating legs midway through the first frame though, cutting the visitors' lead in half at the 9:38 mark when Padden banged home a loose puck after a point shot from Mollie Johnson. The game would head to intermission at the same 2-1 score-line, with Alvernia holding a 13-9 edge in shots.
 
The Golden Wolves again came out strong to start the second, regaining a two goal advantage with a third tally on a power play just over five minutes into the stanza. The goal would not discourage the hosts however, as Neumann responded with its best play of the contest throughout the rest of the period. The Knights would outshoot Alvernia by a count of 22-7 in the frame as they clawed their way back from the two-goal deficit.
 
Ott started a late second period rally with a great individual effort. The defensemen used some slick stick-handling to dangle past an Alvernia defender before snapping a puck past the visiting net-minder to cut the lead to 3-2 at 12:38. Neumann then used the power play to level the contest. Brown intercept a Golden Wolves clearing attempt and fired a beautiful back-door pass to a wide open Trionfo, who roofed home a one-timer to knot the score up at three apiece at 14:31. The Knights were not done though, capping off the comeback rally with a fourth goal just two minutes later, as Brown wired home a wrist shot from the high slot to make it 4-3 in favor of the hosts heading to the third.
 
From there, Neumann turned to its defense to hold onto the lead in the final frame. Alvernia registered 12 shots in the period, but steady goaltending from Cooney and excellent defending in front of her kept the one goal lead intact the rest of the way. The Golden Wolves pulled their goalie with a minute left to go in the game looking for an equalizer, but could not find the back of the net as the Knights skated away with the 4-3 conference opening win.
 
Neumann (2-1-0, 1-0-0 UCHC) will look to pick up more points in conference play tomorrow when it takes on rival Stevenson University again on home ice. Puck-drop is scheduled for 2:00 PM.