HANCOCK, Mich.: Senior
Sam Westgaard (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to lift the UW-Superior women's hockey team to a 4-1 win over Finlandia at the Houghton County Arena Saturday.
Westgaard's goal, an unassisted tally, came at 11:06 of the first period to make it 2-0. The goal was her first of the season, fourth of her career and third against the Lions in 12 career games.
Mandy Tomlinson (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:33 of the first period from
Kaleigh Martinson (Dayton, Minn./Champlin Park) and
Megan Dulong (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids).
Amanda Sergent (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) and
C.C. Hayes (Fort Frances, Ontario/Fort Frances) also found the net for the Yellowjackets, who improved to 5-9-1 on the season with the win. Finlandia falls to 0-14-0 on the year.
Catherine Johnson (Lakeville, Minn./St. Paul Academy) made 11 saves goal for UWS to earn her third win of the season.
After Westgaaard's goal, Finlandia's Sarah Hockings put the Lions on the board, making it 2-1. She took passes from Taylor Pringrey and Abby Kolek and beat Johnson on the power play at 3:41 of the second period.
Sergent restored the 'Jackets' two-goal edge, at 6:57 of the third.
Amber Heidenreich (Phillips, Wis./Hayward) found Sergent for her second goal of the season, beating Finlandia goaltender Annah Smiddy (41 saves).
Hayes put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal at 18:13 with assists from
Rachel Garland (Windsor, Colo./Colorado Connections Academy) and Westgaard.
The multi-point game was the second of Westgaard's career, with the other coming in a 7-1 win against Finlandia on Jan. 7, 2017.
UWS outshot Finlandia, 45-12, with 12 shots coming on the 'Jackets' five power-play opportunities. The Lions were 1-for-2 with an extra skater. Superior was dominate in the faceoff circle, winning 36-of-55 draws (65 percent).
UWS will look to sweep the four-game season series Sunday when the two teams meet at 1:30 p.m., CT.
