The Forester women's hockey team closed to within a goal late in the game but fell 3-1 to visiting St. Norbert College Friday night. It was the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association opener for both programs.

The Green Knights had taken the lead on a power play goal in the opening period and added another in the second. They finished the night 2-for-6 with an extra player while Lake Forest was 0-for-1.

The home team cut the deficit in half with 2:21 to play in the contest. The Foresters' first goal of the season came off the stick of sophomore forward Shannon Gibbons on a breakaway. The play began in the defensive zone, where freshman defenseman Kate Brennan sent a pass up the right side to freshman forward Ella Maher. Maher slipped past one St. Norbert defender and drew the other toward her before crossing to Gibbons for the score.

Still trailing by a goal late in the contest, the Foresters pulled freshman goaltender Chelsea Dennis and the visitors found the empty net with 58.3 seconds on the clock.

Dennis finished the contest with 27 saves and a .931 save percentage.

Both teams put 11 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes and the visitors had a slight 9-7 edge in the second period and 10-8 advantage in the third.

The loss is Lake Forest's third in as many contests so far this season while St. Norbert improved to 2-1-0.

The same two teams will face off again in Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon at 3:00.