After a slow start to the 2015-16 season Saturday evening on the road against No. 10-ranked Lake Forest College, the St. Catherine University hockey team hoped to rebound in the second game of the two-day series. With another solid performance in goal – this time from Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon) – and a bit of a spark on offense, the Wildcats were able to force the strong Foresters to a 2-2 tie Sunday in Lake Forest, Illinois. 

"The complete level was much better today," said Head Coach Brad Marshall. "This is what I expected to see last night. We had seven new players in the lineup, and that's asking a lot when you're playing a top-10 team. We also learned a lot about our team today, and we're looking forward to a hard week of practice and next weekend already."

For the second day in a row, the Wildcats needed a huge showing in goal with the Foresters hammering the Wildcats offensively with over 40 shots on goal. Sunday, sophomore Pechacek saw her first appearance of the season recording a career-high 42 saves to help the Wildcats remain alive against the Foresters. 

The game started off much differently than Saturday as both teams skated to a scoreless tie in the first 20 minutes with the Foresters just outshooting the Wildcats 10-7. Then, in the second, the Foresters didn't waste much time to take a 1-0 lead just over three minutes in on e a goal from Michelle Greeneway. 

The Wildcats responded quickly, though, when senior Zoe Verkerke (Menominee, Mich./Menominee) scored on a set up from Natalie West (Appleton, Wis./Appleton East) and Erika Vallier (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) who both recorded their first collegiate points. 

Then, at the 13:35 mark of the second period, the Wildcats took their first lead of the season when the team's leading returning socrer in Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn./Thief River Falls) beat Forester goalie Abby Cooper on assists from fellow senior Annie Buttermore (Grant, Minn./Mahtomedi) and first-year Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn./John Marshall). 

With a 2-1 lead, the Wildcats headed into the third with a chance to claim victory. Unfortunately, the Foresters had a different plan as Amanda Brunges scored 5:29 into the third period to even the game and force overtime. Each team had four shots a piece in the additional five minutes, but couldn't find a way to score forcing both to settle for a tie. 

Offensively, the Wildcats were again led by first-year Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) who recorded five shots on goal, while Verkerke had three and Solheim, Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) and Randi Fabsits (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) each had two. 

With the tie, the Wildcats move to 0-1-1 on the season. They are scheduled to return to action Saturday against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a 2 p.m. game in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 

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