The Toll Gate/Pilgrim/Vets Co-op girls’ ice hockey team fell 2-1 to Lincoln/Cumberland at Dennis M. Lynch Arena on Saturday night, despite out-shooting the Lady Lions 33-19.

The Lady Titans, now 5-3, were held to one goal or fewer for only the third time this season, and for the second time in their last three games. They are 0-3 in those match-ups.

Sophomore Samantha Wellington netted the eventual game-winner 1:35 into the final period on a shot from the blue line. Juniors Marissa Isabella and Cassidy Simanski assisted on the score. Wellington played her first game of the season on Friday night against Mount St. Charles Academy in a 5-3 victory.

Junior goaltender Michaela Simanski registered 32 saves on 33 shots-on-goal for the Lady Lions, with 15 of her stops coming in the third period.

“[Michaela Simanski] has been working her tail off,” Lincoln/Cumberland head coach Tommy Pereira said. “It’s only her second year playing goalie and she’s actually an amazing athlete. Sometimes in life you need the goalie to steal a period, and she definitely stole the [third] period.”

The Lady Titans attempted to surge back after pulling senior goaltender Emily Vermilye with just more than a minute remaining in regulation.

Sophomore Natasha Savage netted Warwick’s lone score of the game, after slipping the puck past Michaela Simanski from the left side of the goal with 32 seconds left in the period. She was assisted by sophomore Meagan Sullivan and senior Savannah Hersey.

Hersey sought twine of her own 14 seconds later, when she tried to chip the puck past Simanski, but to no avail. Junior Alyssa Mathews attempted to beat Simanski again as the final seconds ticked off the clock, but the goaltender saved the shot as the buzzer sounded.

“We started off good early, but the last 10 minutes we definitely held on with the two-goal lead,” Pereira said. “Probably let up a little bit. We needed to attack a little bit more, so definitely a lot of credit to [Michaela Simanski].”

Hersey had a few opportunities in the third period alone against the Lady Lions, additionally hitting the left post 38 seconds in and ripping a shot that was saved to the right side by Simanski midway through.

Junior Mariana Brawn failed to convert on a 3-on-1 rush for Toll Gate near the 10-minute mark, while Savage had a shot of her own stopped two minutes later.  

“We did a pretty good job [offensively], we hit five posts,” Warwick head coach David Tibbetts said. “Their goalie made a lot of good saves. We were a little snake-bitten tonight. They deserved to win. They outplayed us and we just didn’t finish when we had good opportunities.”

Lincoln/Cumberland potted the first goal of the night, when passes from Cassidy Simanski and sophomore Giana Ritchie put the puck in front of the left side of the net for senior Cassidy DiFaola, who shot it past Vermilye early in the second period.

Hersey had a few quality chances on the power play during the period. During a man-advantage for Ritchie’s hooking penalty, she fired a shot just over the net and then saw an attempt from right in front of Simanski covered up.

Two minutes later on a cross checking penalty assessed to Cassidy Simanski, Hersey had an attempt redirected away from the net by Michaela Simanski.

“We’ve just got to work more around the net,” Tibbetts said. “We didn’t get [the power play] set up the way we usually do. The kids were holding their sticks a little too tight, I guess, and [we need] a little more composure on the power play. It just didn’t happen tonight.”

Junior Madison Balutowski sent a shot just by the right post with 11 seconds remaining in the second period.

Warwick worked efficiently on the penalty kill. The Lady Titans were able to stifle a brief 5-on-3 chance for the Lady Lions seven minutes into the second period, as well as the other three one-man advantages for Lincoln/Cumberland.

Despite only seven shots-on-goal apiece in the first period, each team spoiled opportunities to strike first. Warwick junior Kelsey Holmes weaved through defenders, but missed on a shot attempt. Cassidy Simanski responded with a try of her own on the other end, but Vermilye stymied her. The Lady Titans’ best potential scoring drive came halfway through, when a 2-on-1 rush resulted in Holmes hitting the crossbar.

Warwick returns to action in two weeks, when they travel to Adelard Arena on Saturday, Jan. 24, to play Mount St. Charles. The Lady Titans defeated the Mounties 5-1 at Thayer Ice Arena on Dec. 19.

“They played us pretty tough,” Tibbetts said. “So there really aren’t any teams that are pushovers. We’re just going to keep trying to improve day-by-day. [We will try to] get better every day in practice and see where we end up.”