Box Score After taking a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, the St. Catherine University hockey team hoped it could return and pick up a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win confidently against Saint Mary's University before taking a nearly a month away from competition for the long holiday break.
 
The Wildcats were able to hold on late in the game despite giving up a 4-1 lead to knock off the Cardinals in game one of the weekend series by a final score of 5-3 Friday night at Drake Arena in St. Paul.
 
"Tonight was another interesting finish for us," said Head Coach Brad Marshall. "I thought we played well at times in the second period, but again our youth showed by not finishing off a team when you're up by two goals after 40 minutes."
 
The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead when Macki Fadness scored an unassisted power play goal less than four minutes in. The Wildcats responded late in the third with goals from Megan Killmer (Savage, Minn.) and Kira Kuntz (Dickinson, N.D.) less than two minutes apart to build a 2-1 lead heading into the first break.
 
The Wildcats continued to increase their lead when Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn.) scored an unassisted power play goal as she skated through all four Cardinal defenders to beat goalie Sarah Gustafson. After Ryan's goal gave the Wildcats a 3-1 lead early, Shelby Salmonsen (Faribault, Minn.) buried a loose puck at the 8:04 mark to give the Wildcats a commanding 4-1 lead and the eventual game-winner. Saint Mary's responded quickly, though, as Brittany Therriend scored a power play goal less than 40 seconds later to cut the Wildcat lead to 4-2.
 
As the third period began, the Cardinals gained control in time of possession and shots on goal and eventually cut the Wildcats lead to just one with under eight minutes to play. But thanks to the leadership of Killmer, the Wildcats were able to hold on for a 5-3 win as Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn.) recorded her second point of the evening with an empty net goal.
 
"I thought Killmer played well getting us back into the game," said Marshall. "When your captain shows up and is the best player on the ice, the other players feed off that."
 
Ryan, Salmonsen and Solheim each finished the night with a goal and an assist, while goalie Samantha Geissler (Elk River, Minn.) recorded her third win of the season with a 24-save effort in goal. Nicki Mosbeck (Emo, Ontario) and Maureen Ryan (St. Paul, Minn.) also picked up assists in the Wildcats' victory.
 
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 3-1-1 in the MIAC and will take on the Cardinals in a rematch Saturday afternoon in Winona, Minn., at 2 p.m.
 
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