FREDERICK, MD (January 31, 2026) -- Despite putting 17 shots on goal, the King's College women's hockey team were unable to solve the Hood College goaltender, falling to the Blazers 3-0 in their road Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) matchup on Saturday night at Frederick Skate. The loss moves the Monarchs to 1-19-0 on the season and 1-15-0 in conference contests. The Blazers improve to 12-6-2 overall and 8-6-2 in the MAC.
 
King's goaltender Will McPherson faced an early test just 54 seconds into the contest, turning a shot aside. The Monarchs generated their first wave of offensive momentum on an early power play as the program's new career scoring record holder, Abby Barlocker, registered a shot on goal during the man advantage. Hood withstood the pressure and killed off the penalty.
 
A flurry of opportunities from the Blazers forced McPherson to make five saves in a span of two minutes with some help from an Eva Goner block. The pressure resulted in a Hood power play, amplifying their momentum. Amanda Sokol set the tone with a blocked shot early in the kill as McPherson stood tall, denying eight shot attempts before the hosts finally converted on the man‑advantage at 10:24 to take a 1-0 lead.
 
King's closed the first with another late push when a power play at 15:42 created layered traffic as shots from Annie Sommer and Barlocker were blocked before a pad save denied Emma Heinrich from the slot. The Monarchs' advantage came to a close and time in the first period expired with the visitors trailing Hood, 1-0.
 
King's generated six shots in the second period and found its best stretch on a power play at 6:41. The Monarchs tested the home goalie with a pair of attempts from Maddie Vaughan along with another shot by Jerrett Tietz. Hood countered with more pucks on net that added to McPherson's save total.
 
The Monarchs fell behind 2-0 when Hood scored at even strength at 10:53. The hosts drew a penalty in the process and headed back to the power play immediately after the goal. Three saves by McPherson kept the Blazers off the board as play returned to five aside.
 
Following another slew of Hood opportunities, King's answered with a late shot by Barlocker that was smothered. After 40 minutes of action, the Monarchs exited the ice with the game still within two.
 
King's produced six shots in the third period with an early attempt by Sammi Stead. The Monarchs continued to put pucks on target, as Sokol, Tietz, Alexis Jones and Riley Kumrow all peppered the net with scoring chances by the 5:07 mark.
 
McPherson continued to face a heavy workload, making saves in quick succession throughout the period to keep King's within striking distance. Between 12:30 and 15:48, the netminder denied seven Blazer scoring chances and received some help in the form of blocked shots by Sommer, Tietz and Barlocker.
 
The Monarchs entered a stretch of 4-on-4 play at 16:30 on matching minors and then lifted the goalie at 16:26 to pursue a late spark. Sokol put a shot on goal with the extra attacker on the ice, but was kicked out before the clear. Hood scored into the empty net at 17:26 to build their lead to three. The Blazers closed out the remaining time, blocking a final shot attempt by Tietz.
 
Stead, Barlocker and Sokol shared the team lead in shots with three each. Barlocker also recorded a team-high six faceoff wins and one block. Sommer continued to establish herself on the Monarch blue line, posting four blocks for the second consecutive game. McPherson turned in a 55-save performance between the pipes.
 
King's returns to the state of Maryland on Friday, February 6 for a MAC showdown at Stevenson University. Puck drop against the Mustangs from the Reisterstown Sportsplex is slated for 7:00 p.m.