ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Catherine University women's hockey team earned a 3-1 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday afternoon, November 7, behind a two-goal performance from Michelle Smith and 32 saves from goaltender Casey Stockbridge. The victory improved the Wildcats to 3-1 overall.
St. Catherine opened the scoring late in the first period, capitalizing on a power-play opportunity. With just 14 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Abbie Benson found the back of the net for her first goal of the season, assisted by Paige Fasching. The Wildcats carried a 1-0 advantage into the first intermission after outshooting the Pointers 11-9.
UW-Stevens Point responded midway through the second period when Abby Skelly scored a power-play goal at the 10:12 mark, with Lillian DeFauw recording the assist to even the score at 1-1. The Wildcats regained control in the closing minutes of the period as Smith scored her first goal of the afternoon at 18:54. Ana Myers and Kriszta Csatlos assisted on the eventual game-winning goal, giving St. Catherine a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.
Smith continued her strong afternoon in the third period, extending the Wildcats' advantage to 3-1 at the 7:28 mark. Sara Cooney and Myers assisted on the goal, completing Smith's two-goal performance and giving Myers her second assist of the contest.
The Wildcats' defensive effort helped secure the victory despite several opportunities for the Pointers on the power play. St. Catherine successfully killed off seven of UW-Stevens Point's eight power-play opportunities, while Stockbridge turned away all nine shots she faced in the third period to preserve the two-goal advantage.
St. Catherine finished with a 36-33 advantage in shots on goal and controlled the faceoff circle, winning 42 of 67 draws. Myers led the Wildcats with 20 faceoff wins and six shots on goal, while Rhiannon Ashworth added five shots and Samantha Bogen contributed four.
Stockbridge improved to 2-0 in net this season with her 32-save performance, while UW-Stevens Point's Emily Griege recorded 33 saves in the loss.
The Wildcats return to action Friday, November 20 in Duluth against the Saints from the College of St. Scholastica. They return to Drake Arena on Saturday, November 21 against the Saints at 4pm.
