Union College Athletics

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Union College women's hockey team kept its winning streak alive Friday afternoon, earning a 4-2 victory over Merrimack at Lawler Arena. The Garnet Chargers scored three goals in just 168 seconds during the second period to take control of the game.

Merrimack struck first, with Emma Pfeffer finding the back of the net just over four minutes into the opening period. Sophomore goaltender Emma Rhéaume kept the Garnet Chargers within striking distance, making several key saves to keep the Warriors' lead at one. Union responded with a strong finish to the period, outshooting Merrimack 10-6 through the opening 20 minutes.

The Chargers came out firing in the second period, scoring three times in just under three minutes. First-year Madi Gaines got Union on the board at the 15:57 mark, scoring her second goal in as many games off assists from Megan Duplantie and Lily Leckelt. Just 83 seconds later, junior Jill Wills found the back of the net for her first goal of the season, scoring unassisted to give Union its first lead of the afternoon.

The scoring continued just 85 seconds later when first-year Lily Oster added another unassisted tally for the Garnet Chargers. The goal marked Oster's first collegiate goal and gave Union a 3-1 advantage heading into the third period.

Union continued to apply pressure in the final frame, with Wills scoring her second goal of the afternoon at the 5:44 mark to extend the lead to 4-1. Merrimack answered just over a minute later, as Pfeffer scored her second of the game to cut the deficit to two.

The Warriors continued to push throughout the remainder of the period, but Rhéaume stood tall in net, making several crucial saves to preserve the Union lead. She finished the afternoon with 23 saves on 25 shots, helping the Garnet Chargers secure the 4-2 victory.

Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play, while Union finished the afternoon with a 25-22 advantage in shots. The Garnet Chargers will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow afternoon when they return to Lawler Arena for the second game of the weekend series against Merrimack. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.