ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team is no stranger to scrappy play. The Wildcats are known as one of the grittiest team's in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), as was their opponent on Saturday, the Saint Mary's University Cardinals. Fortunately, in one of the best hockey battles of the season, it was St. Kate's that came out on top, as the team's gritty play led to a 4-3 lead over Saint Mary's.

After a hard fought came that resulted in a 3-3 draw on Friday, both the Wildcats and Cardinals came out ready to play Saturday afternoon. In fact, in the first period alone, St. Kate's and Saint Mary's were called for a combined five penalties, three of which were for cross checking. As a result, it was a high scoring affair, as the Wildcats and Cardinals each scored two goals apiece to end the first period in a 2-2 draw. Anna Carman (Lutsen, Minn. / Cook County) got the scoring started early with her first goal of the season. The senior took a MacKenzie Ess (Apple Valley, Minn. / Burnsville) rebound and buried it in the back of the net 30 seconds in to the game to give St. Kate's a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats continued to pressure Saint Mary's defense as they peppered starting goalie Ashley Corcoran with seven early shots to take a 7-0 shot advantage. Unfortunately, when the Cardinals did manage to take their first shot it was deadly. After Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) was called and sent to the penalty box for interference, Saint Mary's Bailey Wendt scored her eighth power play goal of the season to even the score 1-1. A few minutes later, the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead over St. Kate's thanks to an even strength goal from Kelsey Corcoran.

Fortunately, the Wildcats had the last say in the first period as they scored the equalizer with 2:02 remaining in the period. First year Emilee Anderson (Chanhassen, Minn. / Chanhassen) scored her fifth goal of the season on the power play, tying the score at 2-2.

The second period proved to be just as crazy as the first, minus the scoring. St. Kate's and Saint Mary's were called for a combined five penalties in the second period after being called for five in the first. However, neither team managed to score on a power play opportunity until half way through, as Ess snuck the puck behind Corcoran at 10:55 to regain a 3-2 lead for the Wildcats.

The Cardinals had ample opportunities to tie and take the lead of their own, as both Thompson and Veronica Gruett (Woodbury, Minn. / Revolution) were sent to the penalty box in the second period. Fortunately, St. Kate's and first year goalie Bryce Boreen (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park-Cottage Grove) managed to kill both penalties and preserve the Wildcats 3-2 lead after two periods of play.

The third period was just as intense as the first two, highlighted by two goals and a handful of penalties. Anderson scored her second goal of the game thanks to a beautiful tic-tac-toe play involving Laken and Lexi Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) to extend St. Kate's lead to 4-2 at 10:55. However, with five minutes remaining in regulation, Saint Mary's made things interesting as Anya Hafiz scored her second goal of the series to cut the Wildcats lead to 4-3.

After Hafiz' goal, it was an all out shootout between St. Kate's and the Cardinals, as both goalies were tested in the final five minutes of play. Boreen and the Wildcats defense was really put to the test when the team received a bench penalty for having too many skaters on the ice. Saint Mary's peppered Boreen with shots, but the first year held firm, and St. Kate's managed to kill the penalty with less than one minute remaining in the game.

The Cardinals, though, weren't about to give up, as head coach Greg Moore pulled Corcoran for an extra skater. With its top forwards on the ice, Saint Mary's sent a plethora of shots Boreen's way, but the first year goalie turned away every shot she faced in the final minute. After a Hafiz shot soared wide and the buzzer sounded, Boreen jumped in the air as the Wildcats stormed the ice to celebrate the dramatic 4-3 victory.

After giving up two goals in the first period, Boreen was gold in net for St. Kate's, making 29 saves in 60 minutes of work. She also earned the first win of her collegiate career thanks to her outstanding play.

Carman, Anderson and Ess all scored Saturday afternoon, while a handful of players tallied assists in the victory.

With the win, St. Kate's overall record improves to 4-11-1 and the team is now 3-6-1 in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the ice on Friday, January 26 when they travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota to take on the College of Saint Benedict at 7 p.m.