ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team didn't need a four-goal third period to post their second straight one-goal victory Saturday afternoon.
In fact, the Cardinals scored all the goals they would need in the opening 20 minutes of Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest against Saint Benedict.
Scratch that.
The Cardinals scored all the goals they would need in the opening 17 minutes of Saturday's conference rematch with the Blazers.
In fact,
Erin Stenseth's (Eau Claire, Wis.) goal at 16:31 of the first period was the game's only scoring, as SMU completed a key conference sweep with a 1-0 victory.
“I thought we played very well,” said SMU coach
Terry Mannor, whose team improved to 8-5-1 in the MIAC and inched a little bit closer to lockup up a conference playoff berth with four games remaining in the regular season. “We certainly had our chances to score more than just the one goal, but we just couldn't seem to put the puck in the net.
“One goal or eight, the bottom line is the same — a win. And at this stage in the season, all wins are important.”
Stenseth broke the scoreless tying, netting the eventual game-winner off assists from
Rachel Gates-Vickery () and
Sara Eisenhauer () with 2:29 remaining in the opening period.
And from there, SMU goalie
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) made that one goal stand up, stopping all 24 CSB shots en route to her fourth shutout of the season.
Blazer goalie Lauren Herzog, meanwhile, finished with 40 saves, including 16 in the second period alone.
The Cardinals, who have now won three straight, are back in action on Friday, playing host to Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Ice Arena.
