ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint Mary's University women's hockey coach Terry Mannor had a simple game plan heading into Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Catherine: Stop the Wildcats' Michaela Michaelson.
After all, the Wildcat forward had been a thorn in the Cardinals' side each of the last two years, scoring eight goals – including two hat tricks – in the teams' last four meetings.
The Cardinals worked the game plan to perfection, as the SMU defense clamped down on Michaelson, holding the high-flying forward to just two shots on goal, while Jamie Henneman (Countryside, Ill.) scored in both the first and second periods in leading Saint Mary's to a 2-0 victory.
“We played very well all the way around,” said Mannor, whose team improved to 2-0-1 in conference play with the victory. “Defensively, we knew we had to shut down (Michaelson) - she has been a nightmare for us the last couple of years – and we did that.
“And, offensively, we were solid. Jamie came up with a couple nice goals, and that proved to be the difference.”
Henneman netted the first of her two goals four minutes into the opening period and then recorded Goal No. 2 – a short-handed tally – with less than five minutes remaining in the second.
And Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) made the two-goal lead stand up, stopping all 23 shots she faced in record her first collegiate shutout.
“This was a good win for us – we jumped out to that early (first-period) lead and kept getting better as the game went on,” said Mannor, whose team will host the Wildcats in the second game of their two-game conference season on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena. “It's nice to get that win on the road, but now the important thing for us is to follow this up with another solid performance on Saturday.”
