WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Despite a solid showing by the Colonels, the women’s ice hockey team suffered its second loss of the season in a 4-1 defeat against Chatham University.

Even though Wilkes has fallen to 0-2 on the year, head coach Earl Utter was impressed with how his team matched up on the ice against the Cougars.

“We battled really hard,” said Utter. “I was really happy with our offensive zone, our penalty killing, our defensive zone play was good, us moving our feet was good. Obviously, you’re disappointed with the score, but for me, there’s more to the game of hockey than just a score. I’m pleased with our performance today.”

Captain forward Shauna Tubbs knew heading into this match that Chatham would be a tough opponent after facing them in game one of the series on Feb. 26. 

Moving forward, she hopes to help the team work harder at practice to prepare for their next game against Manhattanville College.

“Going into it, we needed to be strong, coming out fast like we didn’t do last game,” said Tubbs. “We needed to be more prepared and outwork the other team. I think we need to come into practice this week and work harder, be smarter with our sticks and keep our heads up.”

Chatham opened up the scoring in the first period with a goal at the 10:24 mark. 

The next goal scored by the Cougars came in the second period, while they scored two more early in the third period to make it 4-0. 

The Colonels got on the board at 7:48, when assistant captain Kendall Castro scored her first goal of the season.

As captains of the team, Castro hopes that she and Tubbs can help the new and younger members of the team adjust and better themselves.

“We’re making sure that all the freshmen and sophomores are asking us questions, making sure that they understand what they’re supposed to do and being understanding and open about any struggling situations that they’re getting in,” said Castro. “It’s all about working together, being a family and getting along on and off the ice.”

The women’s ice hockey team competes against Manhattanville on March 5 at 5 p.m. at the Toyota Sportsplex. 

No fans are allowed in attendance, but a livestream can be found  at gowilkesu.com.