Lake Cowboy edges Tradition Mortgage Black 4-3 in shootout

A terrific goaltending duel and a tale of two halves highlighted Tuesday night’s Celly League matchup at Braemar Arena as Lake Cowboy edged Tradition Mortgage Black 4-3 in a shootout after the teams battled to a 3-3 deadlock through regulation.

Lake Cowboy controlled much of the territorial play and generated the better scoring opportunities during the opening half. That early pressure translated to the scoreboard as Lake Cowboy built a 3-1 advantage behind goals from Alexa Hanrahan (Assumption), Justina Valentini (Assumption) and Isa Goettl (Clarkson).

Hanrahan opened the scoring at 11:55 of the first half, finishing a play set up by Goettl and Tori Anderson (Mankato State) Valentini doubled the lead at 2:21 with Lauren O'Hara (Vermont) and Kendra Distad (Minnesota) collecting the assists before Goettl extended the lead to 3-1 just 17 seconds later off a feed from Distad and O'Hara.

Tradition Mortgage Black weathered the early storm and found a critical late first-half goal when Ruby Rauk (Bemidji) struck at 1:08 to cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the break.

The second half belonged largely to Tradition Mortgage Black. Fueled by sustained offensive-zone pressure and aided by a pair of power-play opportunities, Tradition gradually tilted the ice in its favor. While the extra-attacker situations did not produce goals, they were indicative of the momentum shift as Tradition continued to push the pace.

Sophie Olson (SCSU) pulled Tradition within one at the 7:35 mark of the second half with Avery Hovland (Minnesota) earning the assist. Just over two minutes later, Rauk struck again, burying her second goal of the night off assists from Abby Garvin (Holy Cross) and Alara Murphy (Syracuse) to knot the game at 3-3 with 5:05 remaining.

Both teams generated chances the rest of the way, but the goaltenders stood tall. Lake Cowboy netminder Layla Hemp (Minnesota) was outstanding throughout regulation, turning aside numerous quality opportunities while facing Tradition's strongest push of the night. At the other end, Tradition's tandem of Ashlyn Hazlett (Bemidji) and Kaitlin (Bemidji) Groess combined to keep their team within striking distance after Lake Cowboy's fast start.

The game ultimately required a shootout, where Goettl delivered the night's signature moment. After both teams were turned aside on their early attempts, Goettl dazzled with a flashy move and tucked home the lone goal of the skills competition to secure the extra point for Lake Cowboy.

Goettl finished with a goal and an assist in regulation before adding the shootout winner, capping a standout performance.

With the victory, Lake Cowboy improved to 2-1 on the season, while Tradition Mortgage Black remained in search of its first win at 0-3 despite an impressive comeback effort.