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Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CARDINAL ATHLETICS
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Chris Ebert

Women's Hockey

Cardinals continue winning ways with victory over Blugolds

Jake Wanek, SMU Sports Information Office

SMU's Kaye Collier goes down to make a save during the first period of Friday's nonconference game against UW-Eau Claire
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WINONA, Minn. — It may only be in the third game of the season, but the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team looked to be in midseason form.

The Cardinals used a three-goal second period to take control, as SMU pushed its season-opening winning streak to three straight with a 4-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire in its home opener on Friday night at the SMU Ice Arena.

“There is obviously a lot we need to clean up, but it was nice to see us finish around the net,” SMU coach Terry Mannor. “We need to tighten up on defense and get more shots, but it was nice to see us take advantage of the shots we did get.”

After Sheree Haselmore (Gore, New Zealand) got SMU on the board with a first-period goal, the Cardinals' offense kicked into high gear in the game's middle period.

Dana Kreuser (Maplewood, Minn.) began the onslaught midway through the second period, as she rifled one home from the slot to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) then scored her second goal as a Cardinal on an assist from Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) to make it a 3-0 advantage with six minutes remaining.

And the Cardinals weren't done, as Cecilia Hardacker (Bloomington, Minn.) scored her first collegiate on a one-timer from Riane Imdieke (Chaska, Minn.).

“In between periods we talked about competing,” Mannor said. “We felt like we were letting them win the battles, and we won them in the second.”

Last season the matchup between SMU and UW-EC went down to the wire — with both games being decided by 2-1 margins in the game's final minutes — but this time around, the Cardinals were determined to get off to a better start.

“Throughout the week we talked a lot about how every game with (Eau Claire) is always close,” Mannor said. “I'm not sure we were ready at the beginning, but we progressed and became ready as the game went on.”

The same two teams square off again Saturday night, as the Cardinals travel to UW-Eau Claire for a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Hobbs Ice Arena.

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