WINONA, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team has had no issue scoring in its recent games. The Wildcats scored a season high 11 goals in two games last weekend and added three more to their season total thanks to a three-goal performance against Saint Mary's University Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, St. Kate's also gave up three goals in the effort but earned a 3-3 draw against Saint Mary's to earn a crucial point in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings.
The Wildcats actually outplayed and outshot the Cardinals in the game. In fact, St. Kate's led for the majority of the game and played some of its best hockey of the season after the first period, where the team was outshot by Saint Mary's 10-5. However, goalie Bryce Boreen (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park-Cottage Grove) was stellar between the pipes as she turned away all 10 shots to preserve the 0-0 score.
After a scoreless first period, the Wildcats were quick to test the Cardinals starting goalie Ashley Corcoran. St. Kate's sent five shots Corcoran's way in the first period and the goalie was there to make all five saves. That all changed, though, in the second period, when the Wildcats put 17 shots on goal, thanks in large part to multiple power play opportunities. At exactly 3:40, one of those shots found its way to the back of the net, as Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season to give St. Kate's an early 1-0 lead.
Saint Mary's, though, tied it up just four short minutes later. The Wildcats once again had a five-on-four advantage after the Cardinals were called for yet another penalty. However, Saint Mary's senior forward Jesse Cwik managed to strip the puck at center ice and skated down for a one-on-one with St. Kate's goalie Bryce Boreen (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park-Cottage Grove). While the first year goalie had been gold in between the pipes, there was no chance to stop Cwik's breakaway goal, meaning the score was tied 1-1 with 12:10 remaining in the period.
Fortunately, it was the Wildcats who took the next lead, as senior Sara Brakke (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) scored her first goal of the season at 17:23 to regain a 2-1 advantage for St. Kate's. Brakke, though, wasn't the only defenseman to score for St. Kate's, as junior MacKenzie Ess (Apple Valley, Minn. / Burnsville) extended the Wildcats lead to 3-1 at 7:51 in the third period with her second power play goal of the season.
Sadly, St. Kate's could not keep Saint Mary's off the board, as the Cardinals scored two goals late in the third period to tie the game at three and send it into overtime. Molly Abraham scored on a penalty shot at 11:46, while Anya Hafiz evened the score at 3-3 nearly five minutes later with a goal at 16:40. Still, that left the Wildcats plenty of time to take a definitive lead, especially when Saint Mary's Lauren Rogers was sent to the penalty box at 19:20. Unfortunately, Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) was called for hooking 20 seconds later, resulting in the 3-3 tie at the end of regulation.
Neither St. Kate's nor the Cardinals fared better in overtime. Both teams had opportunities to score the game-winner but Boreen and Corcoran were stellar in the final five minutes. Both Ess and Muller had looked in the final 10 seconds of the period but Corcoran was there to save five shots, resulting in a 3-3 tie between the two teams.
The Wildcats actually outshot Saint Mary's 35-31 in the game, marking just the third time this season St. Kate's outshot its opponent. Boreen made a season-high 28 saves in the tie, while Muller, Brakke and Ess accounted for St. Kate's three goals. Both Muller sisters and Thompson tallied multi-point nights, as Thompson and Lexi Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) assisted on two of the Wildcats three goals.
With the tie, St. Kate's overall record improved to 3-11-1 and the team is now 2-6-1 in MIAC play. The Wildcats and Cardinals will play game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Drake Arena.
