ASTON, Pa. - If the opening weekend of the 2021 Neumann University women's ice hockey season is any indication of what the next few months have in store, expect a flair for the dramatic the rest of the way. The Knights overcame a four goal deficit to Lebanon Valley College on Saturday afternoon's senior day contest, fighting all the way back to win the contest 5-4 in overtime.
Claudia Trionfo was the difference-maker on the afternoon for Neumann, playing a part in four of the team's five goals with two goals and two assists.
Mikaylee Henhawk recorded a goal and two assists in the win, while
Jeannie Padden added two helpers as well.
Georgi Rowland and
Georgia Wunder also scored for the Knights, who received excellent goaltending from
Michelle Winand-Bacon (31 saves).
Saturday's senior day certainly didn't start as planned for the Knights. After honoring the team's six seniors prior to the game, Neumann came out flat in the first frame. In an opposite result to last night's first period that saw Neumann take an early 3-0 lead, Lebanon Valley carried the play throughout the opening 20 minutes. The Dutchmen out-shot the hosts by a count of 15-9 on their way to a 2-0 lead after one.
The mountain to climb became even bigger early in the second stanza, as the Dutchmen continued to dominate. Lebanon Valley tallied twice in the first half of the period to extend its lead to an almost insurmountable 4-0 advantage with 9:09 left in the period.
"Almost" was the key word in the above sentence however, as a team of motivated and resilient Knights would not quit on the game. Using a red-hot power play unit, Neumann chipped away at the Lebanon Valley lead one goal at a time. Wunder started the comeback at 12:51 of the second, picking up the rebound off a Henhawk point shot and depositing the puck into the back of the net to make it 4-1. The hosts continued to fight back on the man advantage late in the stanza, as Trionfo banged home a loose puck around the crease to make it 4-2 with 4:43 left to play in the period. Rowland then capped off the power-play-palooza with the team's third goal on the man-advantage at the 18:22 mark to cut the lead back to just one. The freshmen forward also scored from close range, then exuberantly celebrated her first career goal by racing past the Neumann bench to fire up her teammates and signify that the Knights were right back in the contest.
Neumann's momentum would continue into the final frame, as the Knights threw everything they had at the Dutchmen net en route to a 19-9 shot advantage in the third. Despite relentless pressure in the visitors' end, it would take until the 13:29 mark for the Knights to find a breakthrough. That was when Neumann finally climbed the mountain they faced midway through the second, as Henhawk rifled home a slap shot from the high slot to equalize things at four apiece. The hosts had numerous chances to end things in regulation, but despite a bevy of opportunities from both Trionfo and
Katelyn Brown, the game headed to overtime knotted at 4-4.
It would not take long for Neumann to put an explanation point on one of the best comebacks in recent program history. In a fitting ending on senior day, Padden and Trionfo took matters into their own hands just 15 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session. After an initial Padden shot was saved by the Dutchmen net-minder, the puck found its way to Trionfo. The senior forward then fired a puck to the net that ricocheted off a Lebanon Valley defender and floated over the goalie's shoulder to seal the 5-4 comeback victory and send the Neumann bench into jubilation.
Neumann (1-0-1) gets back to action next Friday, February 26th when the team hosts rival Stevenson University. Puck-drop in Aston is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
