Box Score After managing to score just once  – on a shorthanded opportunity  –  and allowing six Bethel University goals Friday night, the St. Catherine University hockey team needed to slow down four of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) top scorers in the game-two rematch in order to come away with a win and remain in fourth-place in the conference standings. Thanks to strong defensive play and solid goaltending from Samantha Geissler (Elk River, Minn.) in goal, the Wildcats were able to silence the Royals for a 2-0 shutout win Saturday afternoon at Drake Arena in St. Paul. 

"I'm really proud of how the whole team kept their focus and stuck to our plan," said Head COach brad marshall. "As a coach, it's rewarding to see your players buy into what we talk about and stress on a daily basis. Although there were a couple of very good individual performances today, I think everyone in a gold jersey was solid ."

In the opening period, the Wildcats found themselves down twice to penalties but managed to hold the Royals scoreless. Then, on their first power play opportunity, the Wildcats were able to capitalize as Hannah Okerstrom (Bayport, Minn.) scored her first of two goals in the game to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead at the break. 

The Wildcats then slipped into a tough defensive mode in the second period and kept the Royals off the board, despite being outshot 10-3 in the middle 20 minutes. With several big stops from Geissler in the early minutes of the third period, the Wildcats managed to force Bethel into an empty net situation. Okerstrom threw a long puck from the defensive zone that found it's way into the back of the net with five seconds remainging for her second two-point game in as many weeks – sealing an always-important MIAC victory for the Wildcats. Okerstrom is now second on the team in points (9) and goals (5), while her nine points ranks eighth among all first-year MIAC players. 

Geissler finished the game with 19 saves for her fifth win and second shutout of the season. Her five wins are also tied for third-most in the MIAC among all goaltenders. Annie Buttermore (Mahtomedi, Minn.) picked up her second point of the weekend series with an assist on Okerstrom's first goal, while Alex White (Wyoming, Minn.) also tallied an assist on the power play game-winner. 

With the victory, the Wildcats eclipsed the 10-win mark on the season and improve to 7-4-1 in MIAC play with 15 points in the conference standings. They return to action next weekend against league-laeding Gustavus Adolphus College Friday night at 7 p.m. at Roberts Arena in St. Peter, Minn., before facing off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Drake Arena. 

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