Box Score
Heading into its final weekend of the regular season, the St. Catherine University hockey team couldn't settle for anything less than a win in its series-opening game with St. Olaf College to hold on to a chance at clinching the final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff berth.
 
The Wildcats were able to find a way to do just that as they came to life on offense for a huge 6-2 win over the Oles Friday night in Northfield, Minn.
 
“We got off to a nice start and kind of hung on for the win,” said Head Coach Brad Marshall. “I'm not sure of the last time this program scored six goals (in a game), but we went to the net and good things happened.”
 
Those good things came early for the Wildcats as Annie Buttermore (Mahtomedi, Minn.) beat Ole goalie Ali McKeever on a set up from Megan Killmer (Savage, Minn.) just three minutes into the first period.
 
The Wildcats clung on to a 1-0 lead heading into the first break, but ignited for three goals in the opening 5:35 of the second period.
 
Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn.) scored first at the one-minute mark, before Rachael Gasperetti (Milwaukee, Wis.) netted her second of the season just 46 seconds later to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
 
Bailey Rasmussen (Grand Rapids, Minn.) netted her 10th goal of the season when she beat goalie Sam Ubl to give the Wildcats a commanding 4-0 lead.
 
The Oles would record their first goal on a tally by Nicole Stumpf 12:56 into the second, but the Wildcats responded less than two minutes later with a goal from Kira Kuntz (Dickinson, N.D.).
 
Margot Fleming added a second Ole goal with less than three to play in a scoring-filled second period, but Becky Clifton (Imperial, Mo.) would diffuse any chance for an Ole comeback with an unassisted goal with just over 12 minutes to play.
 
Goalie Alex Hall (Burnsville, Minn.) was stellar in net for the Wildcats, stopping 35 Ole shots for her sixth win of the season.
 
First-year Randi Fabsits (Tinley Park, Ill.) had a two-assist evening to lead the team in points, while Nicki Mosbeck (Emo, Ontario) and Hallie Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) each added an assist to the balanced Wildcat attack.
 
The Wildcats improve to 7-7-3 in MIAC play and head into Saturday's rematch with Oles just two points ahead in the conference standings. With a win or a tie, the Wildcats will stamp their ticket to the MIAC playoffs as the No. 5 seed. Game two is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., tomorrow at Drake Arena.
 
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