Kristen Reed knew her debut in net for the Lady Icers was coming -- she just didn't know when.

Reed, a junior who normally plays defense, had been working out in net for the Lady Icers for the past two weeks in practice.

The new goalie's first assignment between the pipes: step onto the ice in the third period of Sunday's tight game against a potent Ohio State offense.

The Lady Icers did lose 4-3 in overtime in Columbus, but everyone involved was pleased with Reed's play.

Even Reed.

"Honestly, I think I did better than I expected myself to do," Reed said. "There are just things it takes time to learn. Obviously, I haven't had that."

Junior defenseman Stephanie Feyock said the defense's main priority was to make Reed's job as easy as possible.

"It made everybody step it up," she said. "Back-checking, people got on their players a little quicker ... We definitely kept the shots down a lot. She made some pretty important saves."

Junior forward Katie King, who skated on defense for part of Sunday's game while Wheeler was in net, said the defense took it upon itself to make Reed's net debut as easy as possible.

"You don't want any breakaways coming down on her or anything," King said.

Reed appreciated the support from her teammates.

"It made it easy having my teammates in front of me, supporting me," she said.

"Even if I screwed up royally, they were still behind me and supporting me."

The timing of the switch was no surprise to Reed, who was informed after Saturday's 2-1 loss at Ohio State that she'd play in goal Sunday.

Reed said she didn't have time to get extremely nervous -- "it was a little nerve-racking," she did admit -- because she was handling her normal defensive duties for the first two periods.

Ohio State went right at the new goalie, yet Reed managed to hold her ground.

"Even though there was poking and hitting from other team, I kept my cool and did what I had to do," Reed said.

Lady Icers coach Chris Whittemore said Reed will see more action in net as the season winds down.

Junior goalie Tara Wheeler has been the Lady Icers' stalwart in net this season.

Reed said she has been told she will play at least two more games before the season ends, including one of the Lady Icers' games this weekend.

She said she knows she needs to work on some things in practice before she goes back in between the pipes.

"The one thing I know I need to work on are my angles when shooters approach the net," Reed said.

If nothing else, the experience has left Reed with a new-found appreciation for the task that goalies face.

"I definitely learned playing in goal is a lot more difficult than anyone could ever anticipate it could be," she said.