Box Score After opening up Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a close 3-2 win over Augsburg College Friday evening, the St. Catherine University hockey team was able to finish the sweep of the Auggies with a 2-0 shutout in its home opener at Drake Arena, Saturday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats took advantage of five-on-five opportunities in the second match up, after using three power play goals to take down the Auggies on Friday.
 
“It was great that we came out and scored some even strength goals today,” said Head Coach Brad Marshall. “It was a tightly played game. We knew it would be low scoring, but the team worked hard today. It was nice to see their effort was rewarded with a solid 2-0 shutout.”
 
Junior goalie Alex Hall (Bursville, Minn.) got the starting nod for the Wildcats and was solid in net, stopping all 18 Augsburg shots to earn her second-straight win and first shutout in a Wildcat uniform.
 
The game started out with even play from both teams, before the Wildcats had a flurry of chances in the last five minutes of the first period that they were unable to capitalize on.
 
Coming out of the intermission, the Wildcats had a several of close calls before Bailey Rasmussen (Grand Rapids, Minn.) found the back of the net on an assist from Becky Clifton (Imperial, Mo.) to put the Wildcats up 1-0 early in the second.
 
The Wildcats would continue to pour on the pressure until junior Nicki Mosbeck (Emo, Ontario) beat Augsburg goalie Brianna Schulz one-on-one to score an insurance goal and put the Wildcats up 2-0 halfway through the contest.
 
In the second period, the Wildcats allowed just three Auggie shots and carried that momentum over into the third where they would kill off two penalties before sealing the shutout win.
 
Hall is just one of four MIAC goalies without a loss so far this season, while Rasmussen scored her second goal of the weekend and season.

With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 2-1 on the season and open up MIAC play with four points to put them amongst the top of the standings.
 
Next weekend, the Wildcats take on Saint Mary's University in a two-game series beginning with a road game at Friday at 7 p.m., in Winona, Minn. The Wildcats will play host to the Cardinals on Saturday at Drake Arena with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
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