The women’s hockey team took a step back from ECAC Hockey competition this weekend to split a two-game home series with the Purple Eagles of Niagara. The Red beat the Purple Eagles on Saturday night after a goal by freshman Lauriane Rougeau with under eight minutes to play broke a 1-1 tie; but dropped the second game, 2-1, yesterday afternoon after two costly mistakes early in the game put the Red in a hole that it could not dig out of.

The Red (6-4-1, 6-1-1 ECACH), coming into the weekend ranked sixth in the nation, dominated both games offensively. It recorded 37 shots on goal on Saturday, following that performance with 38 shots on goal yesterday. The players may have left a couple of goals out on the ice on Saturday night, but were ultimately happy with their performance and the outcome.Clipped wings: Freshman defender Lauriane Rougeau balances the puck during a game against Dartmouth on Oct. 30. Rougeau’s goal with under eight minutes left lifted the Red over Niagara on Saturday in Lynah Rink.

“It was a good game that we battled through,” said senior Melanie Jue. “We definitely could have finished a few more opportunities, but overall I think we played well. We proved that we can grind it out in addition to the high scoring games.”

Senior captain Liz Zorn started out the scoring for the Red, putting the team ahead in the first period on a power play goal assisted by freshman Laura Fortino and sophomore Catherine White. Niagara’s (6-5-4) Jaqueline Spring evened the score in the second period, before Rougeau’s eventual game-winner in the third. Sophomore netminder Amanda Mazzotta finished the game with 18 saves in earning the victory.

On Sunday afternoon, the Red did not come out of the gates at full speed, allowing Niagara to score a short-handed goal a little more than eight minutes into the game. The Red then turned the puck over deep in its own end, allowing Niagara to capitalize and take a 2-0 lead just two minutes later.

The Red responded with a strong effort in the next two periods, outshooting the Purple Eagles, 17-1, in the third. Sophomore Chelsea Karpenko scored a power play goal in the third, assisted by Zorn and Rougeau. The goal put the Red within one, but it was unable to notch the equalizer.

“We came out a little flat in the first [period],” Jue said. “And that’s when they capitalized. But we came back with a stronger second and third [periods], we never got outworked.”

Over the weekend, the Red totaled 75 shots on goal, but was only able to score three goals. The Red was happy with its offensive power, but frustrated that it could not generate more goals.

“It’s always frustrating when you take a lot of shots and don’t score,” Jue said. “They had a good goalie, but we definitely should have finished more. We’ll just keep working hard and continue to focus on finishing our opportunities.”