ST. PAUL, MINN. –  After tying one of the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Friday night, the St. Catherine University hockey team returned to Drake Arena hungry for a win over Gustavus Adolphus College. Unfortunately, the Gusties got the better of the Wildcats in the second game of the series. While St. Kate's showed resiliency and fight, the team was unable to overcome a three-goal deficit, falling to Gustavus 3-2 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Like last night, we didn't quit," head coach Brad Marshall said after the disappointing loss. "We played really well in the last 20 minutes."

Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) was stellar in the pipes for St. Kate's in the opening period, as Gustavus peppered her with 17 shots in 20 minutes. Despite Pechacek's strong performance in goal, the Wildcats found themselves down 1-0 after the first period.

Unfortunately, thing did not go much better in the second period. The Gusties were able to score two power play goals in the second period, extending their lead over St. Kate's to 3-0. The first goal came midway through the period, after Tori Gruett (Woodbury, Minn. / B.E. Emerson) took a penalty for high sticking at 9:38, and the second again came with Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Thief River Falls) in the box, this time with three seconds remaining in the second period.

While the Wildcats could have hung their heads entering the third and final period, the team showed a significant amount of resilience, which nearly resulted in the comeback of the century. After playing defense for the majority of the first and second periods, St. Kate's finally had a chance to test Gustie goalie Bailey Jackson in the third. With the puck down in Gustavus' zone, the first year goalie took a penalty for ruffing, resulting in the first power play opportunity for the Wildcats. Unfortunately, St. Kate's was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, but less than a minute after the penalty ended, Anna Carman (Lutsen, Minn. / Cook County) scored the team's first goal of the night, cutting the Gustie's lead to 3-1 with five minutes remaining in the final period.

A few seconds later, the Wildcats had their best chance of the evening to cut into Gustavus' lead. St. Kate's was awarded a 5-on-3 advantage after the Gusties took a penalty for holding and too many players on the ice. With the advantage, Marshall decided to pull Pechacek, giving the Wildcats an extra skater and a 6-on-3 advantage. With an extra skater on top, Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) cut Gustavus' lead to 3-2 with a slap shot one-timer from the left side at 17:05.

After Thomspon's goal, St. Kate's had roughly three minutes to even the game with another goal. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were unable to score again, as they were called for another penalty with 41 seconds remaining in the game. While St. Kate's was able to hold off Gustavus in the final seconds of regulation, the team was unable to score the equalizing goal, resulting in a 3-2 loss.

Pechacek was stellar for the Wildcats between the pipes, making 43 saves after facing 46 shots. Thompson scored her third goal and second power play goal of the season, while Carman's was her second.

With the loss, St. Kate's overall record falls to 6-8-1 while its MIAC record falls to 2-5-1. The Wildcats will return to the ice next weekend for a home-and-home series against the University of St. Thomas.