WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 13, 2021) – For the second straight game, a Worcester State women's ice hockey player recorded a hat trick, as Katie Puumala (Framingham, Mass.) scored three times in a 4-4 tie against Western New England on Saturday night at Olympia Ice Center.
The Lancers took a 3-0 lead with three goals in a span of just under 12 minutes, but needed Puumala's third of the night to earn the draw after Western New England scored four straight.
After a scoreless first period, Anya Laxton (Holbrook, N.Y.) gave Worcester State the lead at 2:59 of the second when she pounced on a loose puck after a wrist shot from Kelly Robbins (Tyngsboro, Mass.).
Just over a minute and a half later, Puumala scored her first goal of the night. After a wrap-around the net chance, Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.) picked up a loose puck to send over to Puumala who wristed it into the goal to give the Lancers a 2-0 lead. WSU would tally on a powerplay chance from Puumala for her second of the game to extend their lead to 3-0 at 13:56 of the second. Conway had her second assist of the game, while Trinity White (Sandwich, Mass.) also earned a helper.
The Golden Bears would quickly take momentum from the Lancers when Sydney Conte fed Emma Birmingham who poked the puck into the net to give WNE their first goal of the game. Maddy Tucker found Erin McGlynn open in front of the net and McGlynn would shot up and over the glove of Amber Lee (Nashua, N.H.) and into the net to cut the deficit to one for the Golden Bears.
Western New England would quickly find the tallying mark just 1:54 into the third period when Allison Walker scored her first goal of the season and first of her career. Western New England earned a powerplay chance seven minutes into the third period and capitalized to erase their three-goal deficit and take their first lead of the game. Walker found Alyssa Murphy on the back post and Murphy was able to slide the puck into the goal to give WNE the 4-3 lead.
Worcester State would quickly answer to tie the game again when Puumala scored her third goal of the game, with an assist from Kylian Kelly (Shrewsbury, Mass.).
Western New England finished the period with 33 shots, while Worcester State came away with 42 shots over the 60 minutes of play. The two teams would take to a five-minute overtime period where the Lancers would take seven out of the ten shots in the game, though neither team was able to find a goal, ending the game in a 4-4 tie.
Amber Lee made 36 saves in net for Worcester Sate, while Rieley Jessie-Gerelli made 45 saves on 49 shots on goal in the contest.
This was the first official regular season meeting between the two schools, having both kicked off their inaugural seasons during the 2021-2022 campaign. Friday night's 3-2 win for the Lancers goes in the books as an exhibition.
Western New England (3-1-1) next travels to Endicott College on Saturday, November 20 at 3:00 from Raymond J. Borque Arena, while Worcester State (2-2-1) hosts Salve Regina University on the same date from the Worcester Ice Center at 6:10 pm.