Anna Segedi scored with two minutes and 54 seconds left in the third period to lift the seventh-ranked St. Lawrence University women's hockey team to a 3-2 win over No. 11 Yale on Friday night at Appleton Arena.

One minute and 10 seconds into play, junior Abby Hustler carried the puck through the neutral zone and all the way to Yale's goal line, she dished the puck to Melissa Jefferies, who snuck one past Bulldogs' goaltender Pia Dukaric for the 1-0 lead.

Just about five minutes later, the Bulldogs capitalized on a Saints' turnover in the neutral zone, and after a battle for control of the puck, Stephanie Stainton tipped the puck to Naomi Boucher. Boucher went back to Stainton, who beat Emma-Sofie Nordström five hole to tie the game 1-1.

At the end of the first, Yale outshot the Saints 21-18, including 10-9 in shots on goal.

The Saints would take the lead for the second time, as Huster sent a one-timer rocket from the top of the right circle, to the top right-hand corner for the 2-1 advantage. Segedi and Jefferies assisted on the play.

After two periods, Yale led 21-18 in shots on goal.

The Bulldogs applied heavy pressure for the majority of the third period, and at 16:56, Vita Poniatovskaia found another equalizer to knot the game at two.

At 17:06, Jefferies continued her strong play in tonight's game, beating multiple Yale defenders, and found Segedi on the doorstep, who redirected the shot past Dukaric for the game winner.

Yale pulled Dukaric for the final 1:39, but were unable to capitalize with the extra attacker.

"Tonight was one of those games where we found a way to come out on top" said head coach Chris Wells. "Yale piled it on us in the third. Emma was solid and kept it 2-1 for the longest time. Efforts on the penalty kill were key, as well when we went down to 5-on-3. We had a huge shift to score right after their goal and made some strong plays late to get the win. The three points will go a long way in this league."



Nordström made 29 stops for the win, while Dukaric finished with 18. Mae Batherson finished with five blocked shots for the Scarlet and Brown, while Jefferies blocked three.

Yale finished with a 31-21 advantage in shots on goal and St. Lawrence finished 1-for-2 on the power play and killed off all three of the Bulldogs opportunities.

With the win, St. Lawrence improved to 11-3-0 overall and 5-0-0- in ECAC play, while Yale fell to 5-4-0 overall and in conference play.

The Saints will be back in action tomorrow, as they take on Brown at 3 p.m.
 
The Heartfelt Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the treatment experience for congenital heart defect (CHD) patients and their families is partnering with the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team to raise awareness for CHD patients and the mission of Heartfelt Dreams Foundation. The Saints players and coaches are participating in the Heartfelt Dreams Foundation bandana campaign to raise awareness for the emotional, medical, and financial challenges faced by CHD patients and their families. CHD is the number one birth defect in the USA and impacts people young and old with a heart condition for which there is no cure. Congenital heart defects are the number one birth defect in the U.S. with one in every 110 infants being born with one or more congenital heart defects. More than two million Americans are living with congenital heart defects, and more than half are over the age of eighteen.

"We are very thankful for the Saints Women's hockey team raising awareness for congenital heart defect patients and Heartfelt Dreams Foundation," said Eric Ankerud, President & CEO of Heartfelt Dreams Foundation, and a St. Lawrence graduate. "Congenital heart disease patients endure a lifelong struggle with this condition. It is so inspiring to see these young women stand up and raise awareness for both heart disease patients and the Heartfelt Dreams Foundation. Our special appreciation goes to Aly McLeod, our recent summer intern and a senior forward on the Saints team for championing this wonderful effort."