Cardinals dominate Hamline from start

Donny Nadeau, SMU Sports Information Office

Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — It doesn't quite qualify as an offensive onslaught, but the four goals that the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team scored Friday night were more than enough to get their offense back on track.

And get the Cardinals back in the win column.

SMU dominated Hamline from start to finish — holding the Pipers to just seven shots on goal — en route to a 4-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

"It was a good win for us," said SMU coach Duncan Ryhorchuk, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. "Statistically, when you look at common opponents, we are pretty even (with Hamline). But player for player, there's no question we are the better team, and we proved that tonight.:"

The Cardinals, who scored more goals on Friday than they had in their previous three games combined, jumped on the Pipers early, getting first-period goals from Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and Megan Chown (Onalaska, Wis.).

SMU, which held Hamline to just one shot on goal over the game's opening 20 minutes, continued to play stifling defense in the second period as Cardinal goalie Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) faced just two second-period shots. Offensively, SMU continued to swarm Hamline goalie Alysha Huberty, getting goals from Jenn Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Aja Walters (Fairmont, Minn.) to take a commanding 4-0 advantage on the scoreboard — and a 25-3 edge in shots on goal — into the third period.

"We created a lot of really good scoring opportunities, and it was nice to see us finally get some of those shots to find the back of the net," said Ryhorchuk, whose team held Hamline without a shot on goal for the first 17 minutes of the third period, before three straight Cardinal penalties helped pave the way to four third-period Hamline shots. "I was happy with our performance, but I wouldn't say I'm completely satisfied, either. When you put 43 shots on goal, you should come away with more than four goals.

"But it's a start — hopefully we can build on it (Saturday, when SMU travels to Hamline for the second game of the two-game MIAC series)."

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