The Lancer girls prep hockey team competed in its second NAPHA league weekend of the season, this one in Ithaca, N.Y. 

 

The Lancers opened with Rice Prep (Vt.) and came out flying, possessing the puck for the majority of the game. Rice went up 1-0 early off of a fluke bounce, but the Lancers kept up the pace the entire game and earned the 3-2 win with goals from Frankie Cappello '20, Julija Blazinsek '21 and Emma Pickering '23. Kristiana Apsite PG (pictured on the left) stopped 20-of-22 shots for the win in net. That evening, the team had a chance to bond while taking in a NCAA Division I women's hockey game between Colgate University and Cornell University.

 

In game two the following day, Gilmour took on Kings Edgehill School (KES) from Nova Scotia, Canada, at the SUNY-Morrisville arena. The Lancers again looked strong and confident on the ice, moving the puck well and battling hard in all areas of the ice. The Lancers led by a score of 3-1 going into the third period. KES didn't back down and scored a late third period goal with 18 seconds left to bring them within one. The opponents then pulled their goalie to go at the Lancers with an extra attacker. They pressed hard in the final seconds only to be stopped by Hope Crisafi '20, who made two big saves in the final seconds to secure the Lancer victory.

 

In game three versus Nichols School (N.Y.), the Lancers worked hard, but fatigue seemed to set in and the game was slower and filled with penalties. Nichols capitalized on their power play opportunities and the Lancers lost 4-2. Lancer goals came from Blazinsek and Isabella Sprang '21 (pictured on the right).

 

In the final game of the weekend, Gilmour took on top-ranked Stanstead College of Quebec, Canada in the incredible venue of Lynah Rink, which is the home of Cornell University. The Lancers exploded and surprised the big, talented and experienced Canadian team and went up 1-0 on a beautiful breakaway goal by Blazinsek, assisted by Delaney Mayer '20. Gilmour took the lead again off of a beautiful back-hand shot by Alaina Giampietro '22, making the score 2-1 headed into the third period. Unfortunately, the Lancers came up just a bit short as Stanstead capitalized on a power play and some other big plays. Final score was 5-2 with the opponents' last goal on an open net in the final minutes. Apsite was brilliant in net, stopping 42-of-46 shots.

 

"Standout performances this weekend came from Apsite, Giampietro and Blazinsek," said head coach Seanna Conway. "A special highlight was Sprang moving up to play center due to multiple injuries of teammates. She was tremendous all weekend, using her speed and work ethic to put our opponents under pressure the entire time."