ST. PAUL, MINN – It was a bittersweet ending for the St. Catherine University hockey team. After playing one of their best offensive games of the season Friday evening, the Wildcats were unable to produce the same firepower Saturday afternoon in Drake Arena. Ultimately, despite a hard fought 60 minutes of play, St. Kate's fell to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe Saint Mary's University 2-0 in the final period of the game.
The game was intense from the very beginning. The Wildcats were looking for their second straight win and to honor their five seniors with one final victory at Drake Arena. On the other hand, the Cardinals were fighting for the final spot in the MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs. Both teams came out firing on offense, with the final shot count for the first period 10-7 in Saint Mary's favor.
Both teams suffered one penalty a piece in the first period, St. Kate's for too many players on the ice at 3:40 and Saint Mary's for slashing at 13:07. However, for the majority of the first 20 minutes of play, both teams were at even strength. It was a very different story in the second period. A combined nine penalties were assessed to both teams in the second period, and six of those penalties were committed by the Wildcats. However, the Cardinals committed matching minors on four of those two penalties, meaning St. Kate's only had to kill two Saint Mary's power play.
Despite the penalty filled second period, neither team was able to capitalize on the power play. Overall, the Wildcats were 0-2 on the power play and the Cardinals were 0-3. However, one team spent significantly more time in the box than the other. St. Kate's was assessed eight penalties for 24 minutes while Saint Mary's was only giving four penalties for eight minutes.
After two period, the game was still tied at 0-0, and both teams, as Jamie Henderson scored her twelfth goal of the season five minutes into the third. The Wildcats tried to battle back, but Henderson scored her second goal of the game to cement the Cardinals 2-0 win.
St. Kate's finishes the season with an overall record of 6-14-5 and 5-11-2 in MIAC play. Goalie
Abbi White (Wyoming, Minn. / Forest Lake) made 40 saves and faced 42 shots. The junior faced 20 shots alone in the third period and made 22 saves in the first two periods.
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