The Lakers claimed another victory this season after defeating the Chatham University Cougars, kicking off Homecoming Weekend with a win. This sets their record at 3-0-0 for the 2016-2017 season.

Last season, the Lakers tied with the Cougars 0-0 in overtime so the game could have gone either way. Fortunately for the Lakers, they fought hard throughout each period, preventing a Cougar victory.

The game had a quick start with Brennan Butler’s shorthanded goal at the 17:48 mark.

Butler attributes her short handed goal to having the support of her teammates on the ice.

“[The Cougars] came at us hard and they really showed up to play,” Butler said.

The Lakers then entered two power plays midway through the period at the fault of Cougars’ Jillian Rowland for interference and hooking.

Starting goalie, Mariah Madrigal kept her composure while making a few tough saves for the Lakers. Although, the puck seemed to be mostly in the Cougars defensive zone.

“I just saw the puck and had my defense help me out a lot,” Madrigal said. “They got a decent amount of shots and I think they played really well defensively.”

Throughout the period, the Cougars shifted their focus to defense to prevent another Laker goal.

The Lakers took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room after the first.

Heading into the second, the Cougars tied up the game with a goal from Mckenzie Haskins four minutes and thirty-five seconds into the period.

The Lakers were quick to respond with a second goal scored by Alexa Aramburu and assisted by Jacquelin White, breaking the tie and putting the Lakers ahead for the rest of the period.

Chatham had a chance to bring the game back to a tie on their power play at 10:25 in the second period but were unable to produce any noteworthy shots.

When the third period rolled around, the battle seemed to be back and fourth between the teams. The Lakers struggled to keep the Cougars out of their defensive zone.

Neither team scored for the remainder of the game; setting the final results to 2-1, Lakers.

“We got the win so we’re happy with that for sure,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “Chatham is a tough team and they have really tough players that we let loose a couple of times,”

The Lakers will face the Cougars again tomorrow, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. in the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena.

“I think we’ll come out tomorrow with a better idea of what to expect,”Dillon said. “As long as we decide to control the play and possess the puck we’ll be fine.”