The St. Catherine University hockey team gained momentum a week ago with a tie against defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Champion University of St. Thomas and hoped it could pick up its first conference win since Dec. 5. Unfortunately, a slow first period haunted the Wildcats in a 3-1 loss to the College of Saint Benedict Friday evening at Drake Arena in St. Paul.
Despite outshooting the Blazers 26-23, the Wildcats couldn't overcome a first period in which they allowed the Blazers to score early and dominate play by outshooting them 13-5. The Blazers didn't waste any time in the opening minutes as Stephanie Kirk scored her sixth goal of the season just 1:04 into the game as her shot slid past
Samantha Geissler (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) to give the Blazers an early 1-0 lead.
Just past the halfway mark, the Wildcats uncharacteristically gave up a power play goal to the Blazers at 10:27 when Katie Cristan blasted a shot from the point to beat Geissler giving the Blazers a 2-0 lead. This was just the fourth time the Wildcats have given up a goal to an opponent on the advantage.
The Wildcats came out with more energy in the second period and responded quickly when
Bailey Rasmussen (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) beat Jenna Traut from the left side on a 2-on-1 when
Megan Killmer (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) fed her a pass from the right to cut the Blazer lead to just one.
Less than a minute later, it appeared the Wildcats were going to even the score when a
Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) blast from the point nearly went in but was called off. The Wildcats continued to mount the pressure against Traut and controlled a majority of play outshooting the Blazers 13-5 in the second.
However, the Blazers deflated the Wildcat attack a bit when Elli Marvin beat Geissler during commotion in front of the net at the 12:06 mark to lift the Blazers to a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. The Wildcats couldn't find a way to get another goal on the board, though, and suffered their eighth loss overall and fifth of the season.
Geissler finished the night with 20 saves in goal for the Wildcats, while Rasmussen and Killmer recorded their first points since the 2015 portion of the schedule resumed. Rasmussen is now tied for the team lead in goals with four, while Killmer is tied for the lead in points with seven. They each tallied a team-best four shots on goal, while Ryan,
Randi Fabsits (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) and
Alex Pederson (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids) each had three.
The Wildcats will face the Blazers in a series rematch Saturday in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Game time is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC).
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