Byron Center, Mich. – The Aquinas women's hockey team returned to Southside Ice Arena tonight (Feb. 18) for the final time this season to take on the Lake Superior State University Lakers. Prior to the game today, Madison Morgrette, Morgan Kozar, and Natalie Vaitas were honored for senior night to recognize all of their hard work and dedication towards the women's hockey program.

The Saints were the first and only ones to score, giving Aquinas a massive win over the Lakers on senior night. Kadynce Romijn had a phenomenal night in the net, saving all 39 shots on target, to help AQ to a 1-0 shutout win.

Aquinas finished its season with an 8-14-1 overall record with a 6-8 conference record.

The first period was rather quiet with neither side generating a lot of offense. LSSU received its first power play opportunity of the game just four minutes into the period. Solid defense from Aquinas prevented the Lakers from generating many shots and the Saints quickly returned to full strength.

A couple of minutes later, offsetting penalties gave the teams four-on-four hockey but, once again, good defense from both teams limited very much offense during the two minutes. Both teams would also receive another power play opportunity during the remainder of the first period, but both sides would fail to get the puck into the net.

The first period ended with the score still level at 0-0. LSSU slightly outshot the Saints 11-7 for 18 total shots on net during the period.

Following a brief intermission, the second period got underway. The second period played a lot like the first period with both teams playing good defense. However, the Lakers began to get into penalty trouble and it finally cost them. Back-to-back penalties from Lake Superior gave Aquinas a five-on-three opportunity eight minutes into the period. LSSU killed one of the penalties but couldn't kill off the second one.

With 11:11 left on the clock, Gabi Popperl scored her first career collegiate goal. The goal was assisted by Lauryn Wood, her 10th of the season.

The game quieted down quite a bit following the Aquinas goal. Both teams received two more power play chances, but neither goalie would be beaten. At the end of the second period, the score remained 1-0 in favor of the hometown Saints. LSSU outshot AQ 11-9 during the second period, but the AQ goalie, Romijn, remained perfect through two periods, saving all 22 shots on net.

Lake Superior cleaned up its game in the third period and put a lot of pressure on AQ's third of the ice. However, Romijn continued making saves to keep the LSSU score at zero. A late power play chance for the Lakers gave the Saints a bit of a scare, but the home team managed to kill off the power play and return to full strength with just over four minutes to play in regulation.

Despite being outshot 17-7 in the third period, Aquinas hung on to win the game 1-0 after the clock hit zero. Romijn recorded her third shutout of the season after a great game in the net.