After nearly coming back late in the game against Augsburg College Friday night, the St. Catherine University hockey team hoped for a better result in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) rematch the next day. Despite getting on the board twice, the Wildcats couldn't slow down the Auggies in the third in suffering a tough 4-2 loss Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
"There's a lot of work that needs to be done," said Head Coach
Brad Marshall. "I think we're close, as both games this weekend could have gone either way. Augsburg finihsed their chances and we didn't."
Much like Friday night, the first period ended up with a scoreless tie despite the Auggies outshooting the Wildcats 10-2. Unlike Friday, the Wildcats got on the board first in the second period when senior
Annie Buttermore (Grant, Minn./Mahtomedi) scored her first goal of the season at the 8:09 mark beating Erika Allen on a set up from
Alex Pederson (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids) and
Allie Guzy (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park).
The Wildcats' lead lasted just over five minutes, though, as Megan Johnson tied it up for the Auggies beating
Abbi White (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake) on a set up from Kayla Fuechtmann. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the period, Sarah Buckner scored a power play goal for the Auggies to give her team the 2-1 lead.
In the third period, the Wildcats came out strong and weren't ready to give up yet as
Mallory Ryan (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) scored her first of the season on an assist from
Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) at 3:45 to even the score 2-2.
The Auggies responded just over two minutes later as Johnson scored her second of the game on assists from Fuechtmann and Buckner to regain the lead. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Auggies would never surrender that lead as they added a short-handed insurance goal by Fuechtmann at 7:37 to secure the victory.
White recorded 20 saves in the loss for the Wildcats, while Buttermore led the offensive attack with three shots on goal. Pederson and
Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn./Thief River Falls) each had two shots on goal. Ryan, Muller and Buttermore now each have two points this season.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 0-3-2 on the season and 0-2-0 in the MIAC. They are scheduled for another MIAC series next weekend against Concordia College. Both games will take place in Moorhead, Minnesota, with Friday's game slated for 7 p.m.
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