ST. PAUL, Minn. - The St. Catherine hockey team picked up their second-straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win with a 3-2 victory over the visiting St. Olaf College Oles on Friday evening at Drake Arena. With the win, St. Catherine advances to 7-8 on the season and 4-5 against conference opponents sitting in fifth place with eight points.

"The first 20 minutes were concerning with the lack of intensity", said head coach Brad Marshall. "However, it was nice to see our top players on the score sheet tonight." The winless Oles found the back of the net first, putting one past sophomore Elizabeth Kubicek at 18:45 on the clock and held the one-goal lead through the opening period. 

The Wildcats' leading scorer, Laura Denchfield knotted the score up at 1-1 at 6:42 in the second period scoring the ninth goal of her rookie season. Denchfield had help from junior defenseman Veronica Gruett and junior forward Emilee Anderson. Denchfield scored St. Catherine's second goal on the conference matchup at 15:23 assisted by Anderson giving the Wildcats' the one-goal advantage. Denchfield's second goal was her tenth of the season and is now tied for the No. 2 spot in the MIAC and leading all first-years. Anderson also sits among the top players in the conference coming in at the No. 5 in the MIAC for points with 15 so far this season. The Wildcats' lead was short-lived though as the Oles tied the contest up with just over a minute to play in the second period. 

The final goal of the game was scored with St. Catherine on the penalty kill by sophomore defenseman Abbie Wetzel-Edstrom for the game-winner. Wetzel-Edstrom's first collegiate goal was assisted by Sophia Gorski and Anderson at 4:46 in the third period. Tonight's shorthanded goal puts St. Catherine in the top spot in the MIAC this season with three short-handed goals all of which have been against conference opponents. 

Sophomore Elizabeth Kubicek earned her second-straight win between the pipes allowing just two goals in the last two games. Kubicek who is now 3-4 this season had 19 saves against the Oles with the Wildcats' winning the shot-count 39-21 on the evening. 

St. Catherine will travel to Northfield on Saturday, January 25 for game two of the MIAC series at 2 pm at St. Olaf Ice Arena.