The St. Catherine University hockey team has been searching for its first win of the 2015-16, but has come up empty thus far with two-straight ties against tough competition. Unfortunately, the Wildcats will have to wait a little longer for their first victory after suffering a 2-1 loss to Augsburg College to open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play Friday evening at Drake Arena in St. Paul.
The game started off with a first period where both teams were looking for momentum with shots in favor of Augsburg just 8-7. After a scoreless first period, though, the Auggies came out strong in the second period pouring on the pressure early and taking a 14-6 advantage in shots over the next 20 minutes.
The Auggies finally broke through and got on the board first when Valerie Whichello launched a shot from the point that got past
Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon) at the 13:39 mark.
Down 1-0 after two, the Wildcats regained some momentum in the third period but saw their deficit increase to two when Whichello again scored from the top of the zone on a power play opportunity at the 12:58 mark.
The Wildcats had three power play opportunities in the third period but managed just two shots on goal during that span. Finally, the Wildcats managed to pull within noe of the Auggies when first-year
Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) beat Auggie goalie Erika Allen for her first collegiate goal on a set up from
Karly Nelson (East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks) and
Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) at the 14:06 mark.
Despite the late-game effort for the Wildcats, it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit in falling 2-1 to the Auggies.
Pechacek finished the game with her third-straight 30-plus save performance of the season – this time posting 31 saves in goal for the Wildcats. Muller led the Wildcat attack with five shots on goal, while
Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn./Thief River Falls) and
Randi Fabsits (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) each had four shots on goal.
With the loss the Wildcats fall to 0-2-2 on the season and 0-1-0 in the MIAC. The Wildcats' rematch with the Auggies is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday in Minneapolis.
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