Box Score REISTERSTOWN, Md. -- KaliJo Zagula glided in and scored a backhander goal in the 12th round of the shootout, clinching the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship for the Stevenson women's hockey team.
Tied 3-3 at the end of the overtime session, Stevenson (11-11-1) turned to its precocious goaltender Olivia DeGuire, who made save after save along with her counterpart Hannah Bergeron. It was the third-straight conference title and fourth in the last five seasons for the Mustangs.
A back and forth game throughout the night, both sides held a lead and had to deal with adversity in the penultimate game of the regular season. Hannah Labbe scored less than three minutes into the game, while Nikki Kendrick added the final two goals for the Mustangs, including a game-tying shorthanded tally in the third.
The Mustangs head into the final regular-season game against Arcadia on Saturday with 23 points (7-1-1), while Arcadia, now with 19 points (6-2-1), can only reach a max of 22 points if they can win in regulation tomorrow.
The MAC title is based on the best regular-season finish based on the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) point system among the six MAC teams (three points for regulation win, two points for overtime or shootout win, one point for overtime or shootout loss, zero points for regulation loss).
Zagula secured the title for Stevenson by scoring in the 12th round of the shootout after an Arcadia miss. In regulation, Kendrick led the Mustangs and all scorers with two goals. Labbe added a goal and an assist, Karly Aguirre had two assists and Tea Ferrara had one assist to lead Stevenson.
Arcadia, in their inaugural season, saw three different goal scorers on Friday night including Berklee Hibbard, Campbell Torrey and Karahkwenhawe White.
Both goalies were stellar in the shootout. DeGuire made 10 saves in the shootout alone, adding 23 saves in through overtime. Bergeron made nine saves in the shootout, finishing with 33 saves between the pipes.
Arcadia and Stevenson will square off tomorrow in Reisterstown to finish up UCHC seeding.
* The MAC contributed to this story
