On Tuesday, Nov. 30, the Wesleyan women’s ice hockey squad ventured up to Worcester, Mass. to take on their first out-of-conference opponents of the season, the Holy Cross Crusaders. The Cards fell to the Crusaders 4-1, making this their 5th consecutive loss of the season.

In the first period, both teams racked up an even number of shots, but only the Crusaders were able to capitalize on any of their opportunities, scoring two goals within six minutes of each other. The Crusaders carried this offensive momentum into the second period, as they scored another two goals to advance their lead to 4-0.

With just under a minute remaining in the second period, Wesleyan captain Jill Reynolds ’12 scored an unassisted goal, putting Wesleyan on the board for the first time all game. This marked Reynolds’ first point of the season. The Cardinals tried to build upon the initial goal, but the squad struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone and therefore was denied any more shots on net.

During the third period, the Crusaders outshot the Cardinals by 10, but the Cards put up a strong defensive wall and refused to give up another goal, holding the score at 4-1 for the remainder of the game.

Despite the final score of the game, the Cards are pleased with their strong defensive performance as well as their continual effort throughout the entire game.

“Holy Cross was one of the best games we played this year,” said Jaime Bonner ’12. “Our coach told us that for once we looked like we were having fun out there, and that we skated much better than we did in any other games this year. The score definitely did not reflect how well we played.”

Nicole Bonneau ’13 saw her initial action in between the pipes this season, playing the opening 35 minutes and allowing four goals with 16 saves. Ashleigh Corvi ’13 then stepped in net for the final 25 minutes with 14 saves and no goals allowed. Over the course of the game, Holy Cross owned a 34-16 margin in total shots.

Next up for the Lady Cards is a home game against Nichols College on Tuesday, Dec. 7, followed by another matchup away at UMASS-Boston on Friday, Dec. 10.