ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team already showed its going to be team to reckon with on its home ice. On Friday afternoon, on a beautiful fall day in Superior, Wisconsin, St. Kate's showed it's just as comfortable on the road as it is at home. In their first road test of the season, the Wildcats soundly beat the University of Wisconsin-Superior 4-1 thanks to an outstanding offensive performance from multiple players.

The Wildcats had four different players score their first goals of the season in the win. The team also scored more goals in this game than any other this season, despite being outshot by UW-Superior 31-12 in 60 minutes of play. However, when the Wildcats decided to shoot, they certainly made it count. St. Kate's scored its first goal on its first shot of the game five minutes into the first period. Natalie West (Appleton, Minn. / Appleton East) scored her first goal of the season with assists from Erika Vallier (Tomahawk, Wis. / Tomahawk) and Sara Brakke (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

With the team up 1-0 early, St. Kate's defense and goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) went to work to keep a zero on the Yellow Jackets side of the scoreboard. Pechacek faced six shots and made six saves in the opening period, while her defense made sure the puck didn't reach their goalie by making several big time blocks to preserve the 1-0 score.

Of course, the Wildcats weren't merely satisfied with one goal in the first period. After assisting on West's goal in the first, Vallier made it 2-0 St. Kate's with a goal of her own in the second. West helped out her teammate with an assist on the play while defender Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) recorded her team-leading third point of the season with an assist on the play as well.

Neither team managed to score in the remaining minutes of the second period, meaning the Wildcats carried their 2-0 lead into the third. Naturally, St. Kate's wasted no time extending its lead once the third period started, as first year defender Lexi Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) scored a power play goal at 3:18 in the period.

Despite the fact that the Wildcats held a 3-0 lead, there was still 16 minutes remaining in regulation, plenty of time for UW-Superior to cut into St. Kate's lead. However, Pechacek continued to be stellar in the pipes, stopping nearly every shot she faced in the third period. Eventually, Hailey Adair managed to sneak the puck past Pechacek, scoring the Yellow Jackets first goal of the game and cutting the Wildcas lead to 3-1.

With under two minutes in the game, UW-Superior pulled its goalie in hopes to cut into St. Kate's lead even more late in the game. Pechacek, though, was unwavering in net, refusing to surrender another shot to the overtime minded Yellow Jackets. Still, Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Thief River Falls) picked a very opportune moment to score her first goal of the game, hitting an empty netter from deep in the Wildcats zone to secure her team's 4-1 win.

With the win, St. Kate's improved to 2-1-0 this season with two consecutive wins over nonconference opponents. The Wildcats will return to the ice on Saturday for the second game of the home-and-home series against UW-Superior. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota.