Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — To Saint Mary's University women's hockey coach Duncan Ryhorchuk, a win is a win. It doesn't matter how the Cardinals win — as long as the Cardinals win.

But give Ryhorchuk the choice — either, A). Pace through a pair of one-goal nailbiters like he did last weekend when the Cardinals swept Concordia 4-3 and 2-1, or B). Sit back and relax as his team completely dominates the opposition — and the second-year head coach doesn't need long to come up with an answer.

B. Definitely, B.

"One-goal games are fun and exciting, but they can be nerve-wracking, too. This was much easier to handle," said Ryhorchuk, referring to Friday's 4-1 MIAC win over St. Catherine at the SMU Ice Arena. "I thought we got a little sloppy, and that can happen when you are the more talented team. Give St. Catherine a lot of credit, they played very well with what they had (11 skaters, compared to the 18 that SMU dressed). We just wore them down."

The Wildcats put a bit of a scare into the Cardinals early, as Angie Carstenbrock beat SMU goalie Missie Meemken (St. Cloud, Minn.) with a backhander with less than three minutes remaining in the opening period.

The Cardinals got the equalizer two minutes later — almost without even trying — as Monica Deringer's (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) dump-in from center ice trickled between the pads of St. Catherine goalie Kendra Maxson and into the net.

"We did not come out mentally ready to play, and St. Catherine took it to us a little bit," admitted Ryhorchuk, whose team was outshot 7-4 in the opening 20 minutes. "I think that served as a little wake-up call. We have to realize that we need to make sure to play at our level, no matter who we play."

The Wildcats and Maxson kept the score 1-1 until late in the second period, when SMU netted back-to-back goals from Laura Wyness (Chicago, Ill.) and Christy Hicks (Bloomington, Minn.) 43 seconds apart to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.

Jaimie Mussehl (South St. Paul, Minn.) closed out the scoring for the Cardinals, netting her ninth of the season at the 8:47 mark of the third period.

"It may not have been our prettiest performance," said Ryhorchuk, whose team won its third straight in improving to 12-2-1 in the MIAC and 14-5-1 overall. "But it's a win — and when all's said and done, that's what really matters."