Game Summary

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — One thing Duncan Ryhorchuk did not want as his Saint Mary's University women's hockey team headed into next weekend's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Concordia, was for the Cardinals to still be searching for their first win of the season.

Emily Kearns (Hopkins, Minn.) and Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) made sure the Cardinals' search next weekend against the Cobbers would be for their first two-game winning streak, not their first win.

Kearns netted the only goal of the game just 28 seconds into the first period, and Jung stopped all 19 shots she faced for her first career shutout, as SMU earned that elusive first win with a 1-0 victory over UW-Eau Claire Saturday.

UW-Eau Claire actually had the advantage in shots on goal in the first period, peppering Jung with eight shots, compared to the Cardinals' five, but it was Kearns who made one of those shots count, taking a feed from Jessica Ribish (Elm Grove, Wis.) and whistle a shot past UWEC goalie Tara Berlute just before the first period ended.

The Cardinals outshot the Blugold 13-5 in the second period, but couldn't get another one past Berlute, while Jung did her part at the other end, stopping five shots in the second period and six more in the third for a 19-save shutout performance.

SMU, which moves to 1-1-1, travels to Moorhead, Minn., to take on the Cobbers next Saturday and Sunday.