WORCESTER, Mass. – History was made on Friday night at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, as the Worcester State women's ice hockey team played the first ever home game in program history.
The Lancers hosted Suffolk University in their inaugural home game since becoming the 21st sport at Worcester State. After an on-ice ceremony to commemorate the occasion, the Rams defeated the Lancers 4-2 to hand Worcester State their first loss of the year (2-1).
Layna Pereiro (Chicago, Ill.) scored the first goal for the Lancers at home early in the second period, but Suffolk never trailed after taking a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes.
The Rams (3-0) scored the opening goal of the game just three minutes in when Shana Cote (Broomfield, Colo.) wrapped around behind the Worcester State net and tucked the puck past junior goalie Amber Lee (Nashua, N.H.).
Sofia Scilipoti (Toronto, Ontario) doubled the Rams' advantage less than two minutes from the end of the first period. On the powerplay, Scilipoti fired a shot through the five-hole from the blue line for her third goal of the season. She would score again in the third period to give the Rams a 4-1 lead before Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.) pulled one back for the Lancers les than a minute later.
Lee was tested early and often in the Worcester State net, and answered the call more often than not. Suffolk outshot Worcester 20-4 in the first period and 51-21 by the end of the night. Lee made 47 stops for the Lancers, while Hannah Gordon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made 19 saves in her first collegiate appearance for Suffolk.
The two teams will match up again on Saturday in Boston, with a puck drop set for 4:50 PM.