ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team has been known to rise to the occasion, especially against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents. After playing arguably their best game of the season against the University of St. Thomas, the Wildcats returned to the ice Saturday afternoon confident they could upset the No. 8 ranked team in the country. Despite outstanding defensive play, St. Kate's came up short Saturday afternoon, suffering a 1-0 loss on its home ice.

Just like Friday night, the Wildcats outstanding defensive play highlighted the game as they held the Tommies to just one goal in 60 minutes of play. Senior goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) played her best game of the season, as she made a season-high 43 saves in 58 minutes of work. The defense in front of Pechacek were also outstanding, as they generated multiple offensive chances for St. Kate's forwards and kept several pucks from reaching the goal all together.

However, the Wildcats did make one mistake in the second period, which resulted in St. Thomas' lone goal of the game. After spending the majority of the period on defense, St. Kate's finally managed to gain control of the puck deep in the Tommie zone. Unfortunately Alyssa Wallace forced a Wildcat turnover and found a wide open Rylie McDonell at center ice. McDonell then beat Pechacek over her stick shoulder to give St. Thomas the 1-0 lead.

McDonell's breakaway goal was the Tommies lone of the afternoon, thanks to Pechacek and St. Kate's defensive play. In the final two periods alone, Pechacek faced 29 shots and gave up just the one goal to McDonell. Unfortunately, the Wildcats couldn't come up with an equalizer in the remainder of the second and third periods.

St. Kate's best chance to even the score came in the late stages of the third period, when head coach Brad Marshall pulled Pechacek for an extra skater. The Wildcas peppered St. Thomas starting goalie Kenzie Torpy with five shots in the final 30 seconds of play, but Torpy was there to make every save. A scrum in the corner wiped a valuable 20 seconds off the clock, and St. Kate's was forced to suffer its sixth straight loss by a score of 1-0.

The Wildcats sent 16 shots Torpy's way in 60 minutes of play, including a team-leading three by Brede Postier (Dodge County, Minn. / Hamline). Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley), Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall), Karly Nelson (East Grand Forks, Minn. / East Grand Forks) and Veronica Gruett (Woodbury, Minn. / Revolution) each added two shots for St. Kate's.

"I still think we can play better as individuals and as a team," Marshall said after the game. "Our goalies need some offensive support, and we will get there. It's still early in the season."

Pechacek was gold in net for the Wildcats, which gave her team a chance to even the score and maybe take the lead against the Tommies. The senior goalie faced 44 shots and made 43 saves in her best game of the 2017-18 season.

With the loss, St. Kate's overall record falls to 1-6-0 and the team has a 0-4-0 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will enjoy a week off before returning to the ice on December 1, when they take on Hamline University at 7:15 p.m. at Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota.