ST. PAUL, MINN. - Hockey Day Minnesota is a big day for all hockey teams in the hallowed state of hockey, including the St. Catherine University Wildcats. After a sweep of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe St. Olaf last weekend and Friday night's tie against Saint Benedict, the Wildcats were looking to celebrate the statewide holiday with a return to the win column. Thanks to a barrage of goals in the second and third periods, St. Kate's did just that, with a 4-1 win over the Blazers.
"This one feels good," head coach Brad Marshall said after the game. "Everyone on the bench found a way to contribute in some form."
The first period was once against scoreless. This time, though, the Wildcats had two opportunities on the powerplay, the first coming around the 14 minute mark and the second around the 11 minute mark. Unfortunately, the team couldn't find the back of the net on those two chances. They matched Saint Ben's shot for shot, though, as they Blazers only had a 9-8 shot advantage after the period.
The game remained scoreless in the second period, until Anna Carman (Lutsen, Minn./Silver Bay) struck from the high left corner. The sophomore forward scored her first collegiate goal on passes from Sam Brakke (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) and Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn./Thief River Falls).
Goalie Abbi White quietly went to work, keeping the Blazers off the board until the twelfth minute of the third period. By then, though, St. Kate's scored two more goals. Solheim snuck the puck past Saint Ben's starting goaltender Angel Hillstrom four minutes into the third period, and first year Laken Muller scored her team leading fifth goal of the season with nine minutes left to play.
"If you look at the scoresheet, our leaders played so well," Marshall remarked. "People we expect to contribute and need to contribute did."However, the Blazers had a chance to make things interesting after senior forward Laurel Prodahl was assessed a minor penalty with 2:50 remaining in the game. Down 3-1, Saint Ben's pulled their goalie for an extra skater to try and gain the advantage. However, Annie Buttermore (Grant, Minn./Mahtomedi) sealed the deal with an empty net goal at 18:02.
In the words of Marshall, "It was a good day for St. Kate's hockey."
With today's victory, the Wildcats are now 3-0-1 in their last four games and 3-9-2 in conference play. They retake the ice next weekend, with a home-and-home series against Hamline University. St. Kate's will travel to Oscar Johnson Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday before hosting the Pipers at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Drake Arena.
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