Box Score ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team has had no issue demonstrating how good it is defensively in the first half of the 2017-18 season. The Wildcats have put together the stats to argue they are one of, if not the best defensive team in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). While St. Kate's put on another defensive show in Friday's MIAC series opener against Hamline University, the Wildcats were unable to leave Oscar Johnson Arena with a "W", as they were blanked by the Pipers 3-0.

St. Kate's defense was the star of Friday evening's game, especially senior goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon). Despite giving up three goals and taking the loss, Pechacek faced 49 shots in just under 60 minutes of work, including 19 in the first period alone, bring her MIAC-leading total to 214 shots faced this season. Pechacek and the Wildcats defense also managed to hold the potent Piper offense at bay for the first seven minutes of play. However, Hamline eventually broke through at 7:09, as Bre Simon scored an even strength goal to put the Pipers ahead 1-0.

St. Kate's tried to even the score in the remaining 12:51 remaining in the period but played more hockey in its own zone than Hamline's, and the first period ended with a 1-0 Piper advantage. However, the Wildcats had a golden opportunity to even the score in the 12 minute mark of the second period. After Hamline took back-to-back penalties at 11:24 and 12:41, St. Kate's had a 5-on-3 advantage for a significant amount of time. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were unable to offensively convert during the opportunity, leaving them in the same 1-0 deficit.

Just seconds after the Pipers kills the penalties, they were awarded a power play opportunity of their own, as St. Kate's Emilee Anderson (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) was called for hooking at 15:18. Unlike earlier in the period, the Wildcats were unable to keep Hamline off the scoreboard, as the Pipers Jordan Hansen scored to put her team ahead 2-0.

Like the first two periods, St. Kate's struggled to get its offense going in the third period and were never able to score on Hamline's Annie Juergens. When the Wildcats started to get something going, however, the Pipers scored a shorthanded goal at 9:37, dousing St. Kate's momentum. Still, the Wildcats continued to grit it out in the final half, but eventually fell by a final score of 3-0.

Despite the final score, there is still plenty of upside for St. Kate's and head coach Brad Marshall. The Wildcats overall record may now be 1-7-0 and they are 0-5-0 in MIAC play, but St. Kate's still has a chance to pull off an upset against one of the top teams in the conference.

"We have to stay the course," Marshall said after the game. "We can't let frustration take over. We need to create more bounces and generate luck in our play right now."

The Wildcats will return to the ice on Saturday, when they host the Pipers at 2 p.m. in Drake Arena.