Box Score Game Summary vs. CSC / GameDay Online

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The difference was night and day — and that wasn't good news for the Saint Mary's University women's hockey game.

Just 24 hours after posting a 3-1 victory over St. Catherine at the SMU Ice Arena, the Cardinals' offense went into a sudden deep-freeze in the teams' rematch Saturday at Drake Arena, as Wildcats' goalie Erica Pitzen stopped all 31 shots she faced in leading CSC to a 5-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.

“It was one of those games in which we had more than enough scoring chances, we just couldn't seem to catch a break,” said SMU coach Terry Mannor. “St. Catherine, on the other hand, made the most of the scoring chances they had.

“We are still trying to find a way to play a complete, 60-minute game,” Mannor added. “We did not play very well in the first period — everyone seemed to be looking for someone else to get us going — but we picked it up a bit after that.

“The problem was, by the time we finally decided to play the way we are capable, we were down 3-0.”

After a scoreless first period, the Wildcats went to work, scoring three times in the middle period. Michaela Michaelson sandwiched a pair of goals around Katie Hopkins' first goal of the season, as St. Catherine took a 3-0 advantage into the game's final 20 minutes.

Michaelson completed her hat trick with a short-handed tally two minutes into the third period, and Meghan Lange added her second of the season nine minutes later to round out the scoring.

Erin Johnson-Buscemi (Medina, Minn.) — who picked up her first collegiate win in Friday's 3-1 SMU win — finished with 27 saves, while Ritter kicked out all 31 shots she faced in posting her first shutout of the season.

“The final score wasn't indicative of the game,” said Mannor, whose team, which falls to 3-5-0 in the MIAC and 4-9-0 overall, returns to conference play on Friday, playing host to St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. contest. “We had plenty of chances — it just wasn't out night.”