It was the perfect ending to Karlee Lehner’s sophomore season at Plymouth State University.
Plymouth State University is an NCAA Division III school in New Hampshire. Lehner is in her second season with the Panthers as she pursues her degree in Exercise and Sport Physiology.
Back on Mar. 7, Lehner made 32 saves to help the Panthers capture the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MSCAC) title with a 2-1 win over the Rivier University Raiders.
Lehner says the conference championship was the cherry on top of a great season.
“It was really good. It’s hard to put into words how good it was because we exceeded all of our expectations. I couldn’t ask for a better year and a better ending to our season.”
During the regular season, Plymouth State finished on top of league standings with a 11-2-2 record. Rivier finished third posting a record of 10-4-1.
The Panthers defeated Anna Maria by a 6-1 score in the semi-final to book their ticket to the conference championship game. Rivier knocked off Framingham State 5-1 in the quarterfinals and defeated Worcester State 1-0 in the semifinal to match up against the Panthers.
Lehner says Plymouth State knew they had their hands full going into the championship.
“We knew going into the game that it was definitely going to be a close one and low scoring because our other games against them had also been very low scoring. When it hit overtime, I wasn’t really too surprised, but I didn’t expect for it to last four overtimes, I figured it would be over sooner than that. I knew that we would win because I just trusted my team to score, but I didn’t expect for it to take that long.”
It took a little longer than anticipated for a conference champion to be decided. An unassisted goal from Juliet Rutligiano at the 6:55 mark of the fourth overtime period won the title for Plymouth State.
Lehner was named the first star of the game making 32 saves in the winning effort, 14 of those saves came in the overtime frames. Rivier netminder Rachel Hinkley made 66 saves with 39 coming after regulation.
With the game and conference championship on the line, Lehner says she had to stay mentally checked in despite a lot of action being 200 feet away from her.
“It wasn’t that bad honestly, (I was) just trying to stay focused. I feel that we controlled most of the overtime so not much of the play was in our zone. (I was) just trying to stay focused the whole time so that when it did come down, I was ready.”
Lehner also had a strong individual campaign for the Panthers. In 17 total games, she posted a 13-3-1 record, a .943 save percentage and a 1.16 Goals Against Average with five shutouts.
She set a total of five program records for wins by a goalie in a season, most shutouts, goals against average and save percentage. All five records were previously held by Emelie Lindqvist who graduated in 2019.
Lehner says she is more excited about the team playing well, but she was glad to have a strong individual season.
“It’s definitely exciting, but I don’t pride myself on that. I’m more happy that we’ve got to win the conference championship as a team, but it’s definitely exciting to see hard work and stuff pay off.”
Lehner grew up playing her minor hockey in Prince Albert, but spent her final two seasons of minor hockey playing for the Swift Current Wildcats in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA League. In 42 career games with the Wildcats, Lehner posted a 28-13-1 record, a .938 save percentage and a 1.79 Goals Against Average.
Lehner says the experience of living outside of her hometown was key to helping her succeed at the post-secondary level.
“It definitely prepared me. It’s a little different, you live with billets and you’re living with adults and whatnot. Now I’m on my own, but it definitely prepared me for being away from my family and learning how to do stuff on my own.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
