Women's ACHA ice hockey outlasted McKendree University in a wild offensive battle 6-5 Friday night at the Rec-Plex Community Center in O'Fallon, Illinois. The Lions jumped out to a three-goal lead only to see the Bearcats tie the contest early in the third before Lindenwood pulled away later in the period.

In a game that included 34 minutes of penalties, it was only fitting that the Lions scored their first goal on the power play. Risa Shatford lit the lamp on a play set up by Loki Antonio and Madison Teague at the seven-minute mark. Just over three minutes later, Brynn Carter intercepted a pass and raced in for an unassisted effort at 10:17 to make it 2-0 Lindenwood. Another McKendree penalty led to a man-advantage goal for the Lions from Antonio at 3:25 of the second, assisted by Ardyn Hawryshko and Teague at 3:25. That gave Lindenwood its 3-0 lead, but the Bearcats answered quickly just eight seconds later to cut the deficit back to two.

Two hooking calls on the Lions within 21-seconds gave McKendree a five-on-three power play and the Bearcats took advantage of the chance at 9:11 to make it 3-2, and they still had five-on-four power play time remaining, but Lindenwood turned the tables when Teague stole the puck and netted an unassisted shot short-handed at 9:30.

That potential two-goal swing proved to be a major point in the game as McKendree ultimately scored late in the second on a power play and early in the third at even strength for a 4-4 tie, but the Lions stopped that momentum when Shatford sounded the horn for her 10^th of the season with help from Kennedy Frank and Brynn Carter at 4:19. Frank then was the recipient of a nice set-up from Teague and Antonio for a power play goal at 7:16 to give Lindenwood a 6-4 advantage.

That's where the scoreboard remained until late in the third. Already on a power play, the Bearcats pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker and scored six-on-four with nine-seconds left in regulation for the final margin.

The Lions outshot McKendree 33-29 and Emily McDonald made 24 saves on 29 shots faced to earn the victory in goal.

With the win, Lindenwood improved to 6-16-1 overall and to 5-11-1 in Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) action, and also ended an 11-game winless streak. The Lions will go for two in a row and a sweep of the series when they host the Bearcats Saturday evening. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 6:20 p.m. at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.