MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The hockey season may be winding down, but things are starting to heat up for the St. Catherine University Wildcats. After two disappointing losses to Gustavus last weekend, the Wildcats need a win if they wanted to stay in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff picture. Sadly, St. Kate's was unable to leave Minneapolis, Minnesota with a "W", losing to Augsburg University by a final score of 4-1.
The Wildcats struck first in the opening period, as Morgan Tentis (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) gave St. Kate's an early 1-0 lead with her seventh goal of the season. Unfortunately, the Auggies struck just a few moments later. After Tentis scored at 3:14 in the first period, Augsburg struck exactly four minutes later when Megan Robertson beat Wildcat goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) to even the score at 1-1.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the first period, as Augsburg outshot St. Kate's 13-9 in the opening period. The Wildcats looked to retake the lead early in the second period, as Auggie defender Taral Clayton was called for checking at 3:21 to give St. Kate's a one-skater advantage. Unfortunately, one minute in, Tentis was called for hooking, ending the Wildcats power play opportunity prematurely.
After 30 seconds of four-on-four hockey, it was the Auggies who had the skater advantage in the second period. While St. Kate's nearly managed to successfully kill Tentis' penalty, Augsburg managed to slip one past Pechacek at 5:30 to take the 2-1 lead.
Like the first period, neither team scored in the remaining 15 minutes of the period, resulting in the 201 Auggie lead. However, the Wildcats had ample opportunity to even the score in the third period, as Augsburg was called for two penalties early on. Unfortunately, it was the Auggies who were able to capitalize on the power play opportunity. Though shorthanded, Johnson managed to score her second goal of the game at 14:56 to extend Augsburg's lead to 3-1.
In the final two minutes, St. Kate's had two power play opportunities. Head coach Brad Marshall opted to pull Pechacek to try and give the Wildcats the extra skater advantage. Without the senior in net, Augsburg struck for a fourth time, resulting in the 4-1 final score.
Pechacek continued her strong season as she faced 39 shots and made 36 saves in just under 59 minutes of work. Tentis scored St. Kate's lone goal, while Tori Thompson (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) tallied an assist.
With the loss, the Wildcats overall record falls to 6-15-1 and they are 5-9-1 in MIAC play. St. Kate's will return to the ice on Saturday, when it hosts the Auggies at 6 p.m. in Drake Arena.
