Brady Logan
The Lady Ice Dawgs won two of their three games at the first-annual Athens Invitational played at The Cooler in Alpharetta, Georgia, with five different Bulldogs finding the back of the net during the weekend.
Saturday, Nov. 9: Game 1 vs. Georgia Southern
The Bulldogs took down Georgia Southern 6-1 in a game that featured 52 shots on goal from the Bulldogs compared to the Eagles' six in a dominant performance on both sides of the puck.
Senior captain Hailey Hultberg struck first for the Bulldogs as she scored her second goal of the season 15 minutes into the first period. Sophomore forward Paige Oukes found herself on the scorecard soon after, scoring two goals within a minute after Hultberg.
Freshman forward Georgia Verheyden also joined in on the first-period scoring as she connected with a shot with 2:54 to play in the first to put the Bulldogs up 4-0 at the first intermission.
Oukes would score her twelfth and thirteenth goals of the season at the 10:50 and 0:57 marks in the second period as a part of her four-goal performance against the Eagles.
The Eagle’s only goal would also come in the second period as Brandi Jernigan connected ten minutes into the period.
The Bulldogs held onto their 6-1 lead through a scoreless third period. Senior Ashlyn Carroll completed the whole game in the net for the Bulldogs allowing only one goal from Eagle’s six shots on goal.
Saturday, Nov. 9: Game 2 vs. South Florida
The Bulldogs fell to the University of South Florida 3-7 after a dominant first-period performance from the Ice Bulls.
The Bulldogs found themselves down 3-0 at the first intermission after allowing three goals in the final six minutes of the period. However, that did not deter the Bulldogs as they entered the second period with a chip on their shoulder.
After allowing a goal with 12:01 to play in the second period, Oukes found the back of the net twice in eight seconds as she scored at 9:12 and 9:04. Madeline Walker scored her first goal of the season less than two minutes later to bring the Bulldogs within one.
Unfortunately, the Ice Bulls would strike back, scoring three more goals before the final buzzer and effectively winning the game 7-3.
Sunday, Nov. 10: Game 3 vs Tennessee
The Bulldogs posted their first shutout win of the year as Carroll and junior Saige Legault split time in goal in their 8-0 win against Tenessee.
After a scoreless first period, Oukes opened up the scoring for the Bulldogs’ five-goal second period, scoring five minutes in. The Bulldogs didn’t slow down as Walker scored three times in four minutes following Oukes’ goal.
Dana Stott closed out the second-period scoring as she connected with a shot for her first goal of the season with two minutes left before the second intermission.
Seven minutes into the third period, Oukes pulled off her third hat trick of the season as she scored two goals within twenty seconds of each other. Stott scored her second goal of the game with two minutes left in the third to shut the door on the Bulldogs 8-0 win.