Box Score
After suffering a tough 2-1 loss to No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus College Friday evening in St. Peter, the St. Catherine University hockey team needed to put up a big performance in front of the home crowd to take down the league-leading Gusties and hold on to second-place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
 
The Wildcats came up just short as Gustavus used a third-period power play goal to end any chance of an MIAC upset and handed the Wildcats a tough 3-1 loss Saturday afternoon at Drake Arena.
 
Goalie Alex Hall (Burnsville, Minn.) allowed the Wildcats to hang on until the very end in a 55-save performance, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats couldn't capitalize on their limited scoring chances.
 
The Gusties came out firing – taking 27 shots on goal in the first period – and took an early 1-0 lead as Melissa Doyle buried a pass from Meagan Wanecke to the right side of Hall at the 7:31 mark of the opening period.
 
The Wildcats were able to slow down the Gustie attack in the second period and keep the game within one before making the game interesting. 

St. Catherine came out with momentum in the third, and just 2:30 into the period Annie Buttermore (Mahtomedi, Minn.) took a shot that just slipped underneath Gustavus goaltender Lindsey Hibbard to tie the game at one a piece.
 
The Wildcats took a penalty at the 8:36 mark of the third period and gave up a quick goal just seven seconds later off the faceoff to Allison Eder-Zdechlik – giving the Gusties a 2-1 lead with just over half a period to play.
 
Despite several opportunities in the game's final two minutes, the Wildcats couldn't find a way to come back. Jenna Christiansen would score an empty net goal to seal the Gusties' 14th win of the 2012-13 season with eight seconds to play.
 
Zoe Verkerke (Menominee, Mich.) picked up an assist on Buttermore's goal to bring her season point total to five, while Buttermore is now the fourth leading scorer for the Wildcats with seven points.
 
In the two game series against Gustavus, Hall was impressive in goal for the WIldcats as she stopped 99 saves on 103 Gustie shots for a stellar .961 save percentage. 
 
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 5-3 in the MIAC and 8-7 overall. The Wildcats return to action at home against Bethel University, Thursday evening at Drake Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
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