RJ Craig
This weekend, the Lady Ice Dawgs went 2-1, shutting out the Tennessee Lady Ice Vols twice and suffering a competitive loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Upon entering the weekend, the Lady Ice Dawgs sought to ride the momentum following the previous weekend’s success against Georgia Southern.
Friday, Game 1 (vs Tennessee)
In their first meeting against the Vols since November, the Dawgs were ready to take on and defeat them again.
The first period saw the Dawgs strike first by none other than sophomore forward Paige Oukes to give Georgia an early 1-0 advantage.
In the second, the Dawgs scored a flurry of goals by Oukes, junior forward Anne Patrick—her first of the season—and sophomore defenseman Dana Stott to catapult them to 5-0.
Oukes tacked on her fourth of the game to give the Dawgs a 6-0 victory.
Saturday, Game 2 (vs Tennessee)
The Dawgs faced off against Tennessee the following day for a rematch following Friday night’s win.
In the first, freshman forward Georgia Verheyden put the Dawgs on the board with a powerplay goal on the assist by Oukes following a hooking call on Tennessee’s Seneca Hill.
The second period featured two more Dawgs’ goals. The first was from senior forward Cece Pumpelly at the 4:26 mark, and the second came with less than a minute remaining in the period from senior forward Katherine Davis to propel the Dawgs to a 3-0 lead.
Verheyden added another goal for good measure as the Dawgs shut out the Vols for a second time in a row, 4-0.
Saturday, Game 3 (vs South Carolina)
Following the win over Tennessee, the Dawgs looked to carry that momentum into the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against South Carolina.
This game marked the first time these two teams met since last season when South Carolina bested Georgia twice in a doubleheader, so suffice it to say that Georgia sought its revenge.
In the first period, however, the Dawgs were not off to a good start.
A goal from South Carolina’s Averie Bowen a few minutes into the period gave the Gamecocks an early 1-0 lead, and another goal from Bowen doubled their lead.
Georgia fired back about a minute and a half later with an unassisted goal from Verheyden to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, just for South Carolina to retake a two-goal lead after Samantha Lyons found the back of the net with less than a minute to go in the period.
By the end of the first, the Gamecocks possessed a 3-1 lead.
The second period featured the two teams exchanging blows.
First, Verheyden for the Dawgs scored on a pass from Stott to cut the lead to 3-2, but South Carolina immediately answered back thirty seconds later with a goal by Alyssa Nardslico.
After two, South Carolina maintained a 4-2 lead.
In the third, the Dawgs hoped to fight back to tie the game to force overtime but went on to lose 6-2.
While the Dawgs lost to South Carolina, it was still a successful weekend for them, winning two out of the three games this past weekend to wrap up the regular season.
The Dawgs currently sit at 7-7 and 14 points which is good for fifth in the CHS Women’s Division and a spot in the CHS Playoffs.
While the schedule for the playoffs is still pending, the Dawgs are scheduled to return to the ice on Friday, February 7th. Stay tuned for schedule updates on @ugawhockey on Instagram and Facebook.