Kentucky hockey suffered a heartbreaking defeat in overtime by a score of 3-2 at the hands of Louisville at the Iceland Sports Complex on Friday.

The first period looked promising for the Cats as they quickly scored two goals off the sticks of winger Gabe Rodriguez and freshman forward Alex Clingerman.

Kentucky’s defense would hold strong and shut out the Cardinals in the first period and continued to do so for most of the second before the home team answered back, lowering the deficit to one.

The third period would see Louisville score and tie the game up, with neither team finding the back of the net again during regulation.

Momentum continued to shift in the Cardinals’ favor as the game entered overtime, perhaps owed to the fact that, to start the season, they had already played in three overtime games coming into the contest.

Ultimately, the Wildcats were unable to find the back of the net before Louisville completed the comeback and scored. 

Despite the loss, Kentucky still sits in first place in its division with a record of 4-1-1 and nine points. The team will look to bounce back at home next week against Miami (OH) before going on a three-game road trip.