Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – With less than a month left in the regular season, No. 3-ranked Midland University hosted No. 12 Lindenwood University at Sidner Ice Arena this weekend. The Warriors picked up a pair of two-goal wins to sweep the season series with the Lions. They won a 2-0 shutout on Saturday evening and then completed the weekend sweep with a 5-3 win on Sunday afternoon.
SATURDAY: Midland 2, Lindenwood 0
A week after scoring four goals in their win at Lindenwood, scoring was hard to come by for Midland on Saturday. The teams played nearly 30 minutes of scoreless hockey before the Warriors broke through in the second.
Taylor Bell collected the first goal of the game at the 7:29 mark of the second off an assist from Sky Thompson. Just over a period later it was Brynn Tosh touching the back of the net to put Midland up 2-0. Davanna Ditto assisted on the insurance goal at the 9:24 mark of the final period.
In net, Hannah Stone picked up the victory. She had 14 saves in the shutout. On the other end of the ice, Midland’s offense put up 39 shots on target with the Lindenwood goalie corralling 37 saves.
SUNDAY: Midland 5, Lindenwood 3
Jenna Grosdidier got things going offensively as she poked the puck free and scored at the 13:28 mark of the opening period. Just over five minutes later, Kayla Flanigan scored the first of three goals on the game at the 18:55 mark, giving Midland a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
In the second period, Callie Maguire scored to make it 3-0. While killing a tripping penalty, she scored the short-handed goal while Kamryn Hayhurst added the assist.
After Lindenwood responded four minutes later with their first goal, Flanigan netted her second off a feed from Ally Rakowski with 7:15 on the clock. Before the second intermission though, the Lions got on the board again via the power play.
In the final period, Lindenwood clawed their way to within a goal before the midway point. Shortly thereafter though, Flanigan completed her hat trick with Hayhurst and Rakowski assisting. That proved to be the final score as both defenses held true for the final seven-plus minutes.
Kayla Bailey earned the win in goal for the Warriors. Had nine saves on the day while her counterpart was peppered with shots, saving 39 attempts.
Up next, Midland (20-5-3) will make the journey up to take on No. 13 Jamestown (8-16-1). The Warriors will be looking for a bit of revenge after splitting a two-game series at home in mid-January. The final regular-season games between the budding rivals are set for February 10-11 in Jamestown, North Dakota. Puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m. on Friday and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday inside John L. Wilson Arena.
