Warnok’s career night lifted Panthers past Pilgrims

John LaPierre

He/Him

Staff Writer

1/27/24

On January 26, the Plymouth State women’s hockey team welcomed New England College Pilgrims to campus for a Friday night clash. 

The Panthers came into this contest with an overall record of 4-15 also with a record of 4-8 in the Little Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Pilgrims came into this contest with an overall record of 5-14 and a record of 4-12 in the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference.

For the majority of the period, the Pilgrims controlled the offensive zone. Both goalies saw some shots early on and made some crucial saves. The Panthers suffered two crucial early penalties from Emily DeSimone and Jacqueline Martin.

Katie Porrello at one point had an amazing chance to put one home on a shorthanded 2-1 rush but couldn’t capitalize. The Pilgrims looked good defensively early on. The Panthers had a chance to score on their first powerplay of the game but they weren’t able to. With 28 seconds left in the period, Katie Porrellio notched the first goal of the game but she wasn’t done, just 14 seconds later she found the back of the net again. 

The second period kicked off with the Panthers controlling the offensive zone. Alexis Hornsby got NEC on the board after scoring on a 3-on-2 breakaway. Both teams had plenty of opportunities to generate shots on net and offensive zone time. The Panthers would find themselves on their third penalty kill with Jacqueline Martin suffering her second penalty of the contest. While the Panthers were able to kill Martin’s penalty, they unsuccessfully notched a powerplay goal.

The Panthers scored a goal in the first three minutes of the third period but it was waved off by the officials due to a high sticking call. Shortly after this, the Panthers suffered their 4th penalty of the game which they were able to kill once again. 

Amelia Julian made some incredible saves after the Pilgrims threatened to score a bunch of times with their offensive zone time or rushes from the other end of the ice. The Panthers fell victim again notching their fifth penalty of the game. Unfortunately, the Pilgrim’s Gabrielle Iwinski scored their second goal of the night on a power play.

Late in the period, freshman Lilli Warnock notched her first career goal to take the lead. After a late penalty from the Pilgrims, Warnock netted her second career goal that would seal the deal for the Panthers. 

“I was super excited to be able to get my first career goal but even more excited that it was able to get us more wiggle room to play how we needed to. Being tied isn’t easy. I think this team needed a win and help give us more confidence in tomorrow’s competition,” shared Warnock.

Coming up for the Panthers, They host Norwich for a 2:00pm puck drop. The Pilgrims travel to Vermont State University Castleton for a 3:00pm puck drop.