MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. - Lindenwood Women's Hockey (6-16-2, 4-9-1 AHA) lost a heart breaker on Saturday afternoon at Centene Community Ice Center by a final score of 2-1 in Overtime on a Mercyhurst goal with 1.6 seconds remaining in the extra period. Tatiana Blichova scored her second goal of the series for the Lions and is now up to eight goals on the 2025-26 season. 

The Lions started the game with a lot of energy and less than a minute into the first period, Blichova was able to find the back of the net off an assist from Michaela Paulinyova to give Lindenwood it's first lead of the series. Mercyhurst tied the game at the 11:45 mark of the opening frame on a goal scored by Sofia Nuutinen and the game would stay tied for the remainder of the first period. Hannah Dods was called for goalie interference with three minutes to go in the first and took a goal off the board for the Lions. Lexington Secreto made 15 saves in the opening period to keep the game in reach for Lindenwood. Despite the game being tied, LU was 0/2 on the power play in the first 20 minutes of the game and was not able to capitalize on their opportunities. 

In the second period, Lindenwood committed back to back penalties halfway through the period and was two skaters down for nearly a minute. Secreto came up huge for the Lions on the penalty kill, making four straight saves during the five-on-three to keep the Lakers from taking the lead. The goaltender from New Windsor, N.Y. made another save during the five-on-four opportunity for Mercyhurst, as the Lions were able to make a big stand in the middle of the second period. Secreto made 13 saves in the second period and had 28 saves through 40 minutes of action. The Lions were outshot 16-7 in the first period and 13-7 in the second period, but the game still remained tied at one heading into the third period. 

In the third period, the Lakers kept the pressure on the Lions, recording 15 shots compared to Lindenwood's seven. The Lions had to kill off another Laker power play in the later stages of the third period and the game headed to Overtime which marked the fourth time this season that Lindenwood headed to an extra period on their home ice. In the extra period, Secreto again was huge for the Lions, making three saves. Rhaea Flint recorded the only shot on goal for Lindenwood in OT, which was handled by the Laker goaltender. With less than 10 seconds to go, Mercyhurst was able to gather the puck in the neutral zone and dumped the puck in behind the boards. On the dump in, Sofia Nuutinen was able to find an open Abby Poitras in the middle of the Lions defensive zone, and buried the puck in the back of the net with 1.6 seconds to go in Overtime to complete the sweep over the Lions. 

Despite the loss, Secreto finished the game with a career-high 46 saves and was a big reason as to why Lindenwood was able to get to the extra period. Offensively, Flint led Lindenwood in shots on goal with four as the team recorded 22 shots compared to Mercyhurt's 48. The Lions did better on faceoffs this afternoon as well, winning 27-49 (55%). 

The Lions will return to Centene Community Ice Center on January 16 and 17 when they will host Delaware. Puck drop on Friday, January 16 is set for 3 p.m.