ST. PAUL, MINN. – The 2016-17 season has been full of ups and downs for the St. Catherine University hockey team. The Wildcats pulled off upsets over the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) but also lost a few heartbreakers along the way. Saturday evening, St. Kate's left those mistakes behind and experienced the highest of highs, as the teams came through with, arguably, the biggest win of the season. Thanks to a late goal by Cassie Thomas (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) and stellar play between the pipes by junior goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon), the Wildcats were able to beat their rival the University of St. Thomas in dramatic 2-1 fashion for the first time since 2011-12.

The two teams spent a lot of the first period in the neutral zone, as neither team was truly able to penetrate the other's zone. However, St. Thomas did manage to escape center ice and sent 15 shots goalie Kristen Pechacek's (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) way. Pechacek was up to the challenge, making several spectacular saves to keep the game scoreless.

With Pechacek keeping the Tommie offense at bay, the Wildcat forwards continued to push the puck deeper and deeper into the St. Thomas zone. However, the Tommie defense was there each and every time to keep the puck away from sophomore goalie MacKenzie Torpy. Midway through the first though, St. Kate's finally broke through Torpy. After Sara Brakke (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) and Allie Guzy (Blaine, Minn. / Spring Lake Park) managed to gain control of the puck at center ice, Morgan Tentis (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) managed to break away from her defender near the blue line. When Tentis received the pass from Brakke, the sophomore forward sent a slap shot from the blue line toward Torpy who seemed to make the easy save. However, the puck tipped off her glove and went sailing to the back of the net, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage at 11:22 in the first period.

The second period was just as intense as the first. Both St. Kate's and St. Thomas fought for possession of the puck and the Wildcat defense fought to keep the Tommies off the board. They were successful, until one second remained in the period. With five seconds remaining, a scrum broke in the corner, and St. Thomas' Ellie Tabaka came up with the puck. Tabaka passed it over to Demi Cooper, who sent a slap shot Pechacek's way with one second remaining in the period. Pechacek made the initial save, but the puck deflected off her pad into the back of the net just as the buzzer sounded.

After netting a goal in the final second of the second period, the momentum seemed to shift to St. Thomas in the third. The Tommies peppered Pechacek with shots to open the period, including a three-shot series that occurred directly in front of the junior goalie. However, there were several shots that did not even make it to Pechacek, thanks to the outstanding play of St. Kate's defense. The Wildcats blocked 10 shots in the final period to help keep St. Thomas off the board.

While the defense was busy keeping the Tommies from scoring, St. Kate's offense struggled to get past center ice in the final period. However, once the Wildcats seized the opportunity, they didn't let it pass. Once St. Kate's gained possession deep in St. Thomas' zone, Brakke sent a hard slap shot that sailed wide and was picked up by Jordan Solheim (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Thief River Falls) behind the net. The senior forward sent a beautiful pass to the top of the crease, where Cassie Thomas (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) was waiting to score the go-ahead goal for the Wildcats.

Up 2-1 with seven minutes to play, St. Kate's went to work keeping St. Thomas out of the net. The Tommies offense was completely relentless, continuing to pressure Pechacek and the Wildcat defense for the final seven minutes. However, St. Kate's continued to clear the zone time and time again and Pechacek continued to save each and every puck she faced until the clock finally stopped at 0:00.

Pechacek put together her best game of the season for the Wildcats, allowing just one goal in 46 shots in the 2-1 victory. Thomas scored her second game-winning goal of the season while Tentis' goal in the first period brought her season total up to five.

St. Kate's victory over St. Thomas is the team's first since the 2011-12 season, when the Wildcats beat the Tommies 3-1 in late February. It also boosts the teams' overall record to 7-9-1 and St. Kate's now holds a 3-6-1 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the ice on Friday, January 27 when they travel to Northfield, Minnesota for the first of a two game series against St. Olaf.