The Lindenwood women's hockey team fell to the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks, 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in a non-conference matchup from Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn.
 
The two teams exchanged opportunities to open the first period action with neither team successfully capitalizing on their chances. At the 11:18 mark of the period, Katie Johnson re-deflected a puck into the back of the Lady Lion goal, giving the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. For Johnson, the goal was her third of the season. Just 96 seconds later, Savannah Quandt added to the Minnesota State-Mankato lead, picking up her first-goal of the season. Despite the Lady Lions holding a 10-7 edge in shots on goal, the Mavericks would carry a 2-0 lead with them into the locker rooms.
 
Over halfway through the second period, Lindenwood began to chip away at their two-goal deficit, as Shara Jasper scored at the 12:17 mark, bringing the score to 2-1. For Jasper, the goal was her 13th of the season and her first since December 4 at RIT. Picking up the assists on Jasper's goal were Sarah Bobrowski and Tae Otte. For Bobrowski, the assist extended her team-leading total to 11, while Otte notched her eighth helper of the year, ranking first amongst the Lady Lion defense core. Lindenwood would tie the game just 51 seconds later, on the strength of a Britannia Gillanders goal, her seventh goal of the season. Katie Nokelby and Ally Larson were each credited with their seventh assists of the season. At the end of the second period, the score was even 2-2.
 
The Lady Lions and Mavericks skated even for the majority of the third period, as the score remained even at two goals aside. However, with 5:39 remaining in regulation, Hannah Davidson scored the eventual game-winning goal, her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Lindenwood was unable to even the score before the final whistle, dropping the game by a final score of 3-2.
 
In net for Lindenwood, Nicole Hensley turned in 26 saves while allowing the three goals against. On special teams, the Lady Lions power play unit was 0-2, while their penalty kill unit successfully killed off its only opportunity. For the game, the Mavericks outshot the Lady Lions 29-27.
 
Following the loss, the Lady Lions move their season record to 4-13-4. With the victory, the Mavericks improve their season record to 3-15-1. The two teams will return to the Verizon Wireless Center ice tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. to conclude their two-game series.