ST. PAUL, MINN. – The weather outside may have been frightful, but the St. Catherine University hockey team didn't seem to mind. While it was snowing outside Drake arena, the Wildcats were busy playing a hockey game against Finlandia University inside. Thanks to strong offensive play, St. Kate's got an early Christmas gift Friday night, beating the visiting Lions 4-2 in the final game before the holiday break.

The Wildcats entered the game well rested and ready to go after a week off of competition. In fact, the last time St. Kate's played in a hockey game was on December 3, when the team upset Bethel University 3-2 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. Despite the time off, the Wildcats did not look rusty Friday evening. They outshot Finlandia 43-24 in the game, including a 19-7 advantage in the first period.

However, despite its aggressive offensive play, St. Kate's was unable to break Breanna Merriam. The senior goalie turned away the first 10 shots she faced, including five on a Wildcat power play three minutes into the game. It was Tori Gruett (St. Paul, Minn. / MTS Minnesota Connections) who finally broke through Merriam's wall. The first year forward scored her first goal of the season, and the first of her career as a Wildcat, with 10:09 remaining in the period after Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) and Allie Guzy (Blaine, Minn. / Spring Lake Park) broke up the Lions offensive play on the opposite end of the ice.

St. Kate's wasn't satisfied with just one goal in the first period. After failing to capitalize on their first power play opportunity early in the period, the Wildcats wasted no time scoring in their second opportunity. Less than eight seconds after Finlandia's Natasha Kern went in the box for hooking, Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Thief River Falls) deflected a pass from Lexi Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) into the net, giving St. Kate's a 2-0 lead.
With a 2-0 lead, the Wildcats continued to play aggressive in the second period. Gruett scored her second goal of the game at 6:19, giving her team a 3-0 cushion over the Lions. However, Finlandia answered with its own goal three minutes later, cutting the lead to 3-1 with over half the game to play.

Neither team managed to score in the remaining minutes of the second period, although the Wildcats and Lions both had chances to do so. In fact, it wasn't until the seventh minute of the third period until either team managed to score. Fortunately for St. Kate's, it was Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, MInn. / Simley) who scored, once again giving the Wildcats a three goal cushion by extending the lead to 4-1.

Finlandia wasn't done scoring though. At 12:25, Solheim took a penalty for interference after a Lion player tried to score a shorthanded breakaway goal. That later resulted in Finlandia's one and only power play goal of the evening. After her shot was blocked in front of the goal, Sierra Meiners managed to pick up her rebound and score off the cross bar, shrinking the Wildcats lead back down to 4-2.

After the Lion second goal, though, St. Kate's defense and first year goalie Madison True (Hastings, Minn. / Hastings) shut down the visiting team's offense. In her first collegiate start, True made 22 saves and faced 24 shots to earn the first win of her career. She was also backed by her defense, who held Finlandia to just one shot on goal in the final three minutes of the game, securing the 4-2 win for the Wildcats.

Gruett was the team's offensive leader, with two goals in the game, while Laken Muller and Solheim each scored a goal and tallied one assist. 

With the win, St. Kate's overall record improves to 5-6-0 while the team still holds a 2-4-0 mark in MIAC play.  The Wildcats will return to the ice on Saturday, December 31 for a nonconference game against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Puck drop that day is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.