FAIRFIELD, CT. - Exactly 21 days removed from its last competition, the St. Catherine University hockey team returned to the ice ready and able to start a new chapter in the 2017-18 season. Sadly, despite strong defensive play and shooting from their forwards, the Wildcats didn't get off to they were hoping for. St. Kate's was hoping to snap its eight game losing streak and pull off a major upset in the first of a two-game series against Division I's Sacred Heart University Friday evening but was sadly unable to come away with a victory, falling by a final score of 2-1.
The Pioneers and Wildcats were deadlocked through the first nine minutes of the first period. However, with 10 seconds remaining until the halfway point, Sacred Heart scored its first goal of the game to take a 1-0 lead over St. Kate's. Starting left wing Jayne Lewis beat starting goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) to the give the Pioneers the early advantage.
The Wildcats tried to combat the early goal, as they matched Sacred Heart's nine shots on goal by the end of the period. Unfortunately, St. Kate's wasn't able to find the back of the net, resulting in a 1-0 Pioneer advantage at the end of the first period.
The Wildcats managed to maintain the 1-0 scored after the second period despite taking multiple penalties that gave Sacred Heat a 5-on-4 advantage. Three minutes into the second, Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) took a penalty for hooking, which St. Kate's was able to successfully kill. Unfortunately, seconds after Muller left the penalty box, Morgan Tenits (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) was put in for hooking as well. The Wildcats penalty kill was just as strong as it was the first time around, as St. Kate's killed yet another penalty to preserve the score at 1-0. Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) was also called for tripping in the period.
Fortunately, the WIldcats were able to kill all three penalties and even had a power play chance of their own to even the score. Although St. Kate's forwards peppered Devan Kane with eight shots, the team was once again unable to find the back of the net. However, thanks to Pechacek and the team's outstanding play on the penalty kill, the Wildcats entered the locker room down just 1-0 after two periods of play.
All of that changed just seconds into the third period. First year forward Emilee Anderson (Chanhassen, Minn. / Chanhassen) ended the Wildcats five-game scoring drought with the first collegiate goal of her career 24 seconds into the third period and, more importantly, tied the score at 1-1.
The two teams stayed deadlocked at 1-1 and looked to be headed into overtime with the Pioneers scored the dagger at 18:51 in the period. Taylor Moreland beat Pechacek to give Sacred Heart a 2-1 lead with 1:09 remaining in the period. Head coach Brad Marshall opted not to pull Pechacek for the final minute of play but the Wildcats couldn't score the tying goal, resulting in a 2-1 loss for the Wildcats.
"All things considered, we played very well," Marshall said in a statement after the game. "Our special teams were solid, and we had some really good looks in the offensive zone."
With the loss, St. Kate's overall record falls to 1-10, and the team is still 0-6 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. The Wildcats will conclude the series against Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 6.
