Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — After the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team's 5-1 drubbing of Augsburg last Friday, coach Terry Mannor figured his Cardinals have finally shaken its Fridayitis.

Unfortunately for the SMU head coach, the Cardinals had a relapse Friday evening, as Saint Benedict scored three unanswered goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Blazers to a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

“Our effort today was not very good,” said Mannor, whose team fell to 1-4-3 in its eight Friday conference games this season. “We came in here expecting (Saint Benedict) to roll over and just hand us the win.”

The Blazers broke the ice late in the first period, as Emily Wigstrom scored her first goal of the season with just 2:18 remaining to give CSB a 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

After a scoreless second period — in which SMU outshot CSB 9-5 — the Cardinals evened things at 1-1 when Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) scored her seventh of the season on the powerplay at 6:34.

The deadlock lasted just 29 seconds, however, as CSB answered when Kelly Fladebo banged home a loose puck to give the Blazers a 2-1 lead. Saint Benedict would ice the win with back-to-back goals by Holly Reinking — the first at 15:08 and the second into an empty net with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

The loss drops the Cardinals to 7-3-3 in conference play, and leaves them in third place in the conference standings — two points behind St. Thomas and three points back of league-leading Gustavus with five games remaining in the regular season.

The Cardinals get another shot at Saint Benedict on Saturday, as the same two teams square off in a 2 p.m. conference game at the SMU Ice Arena.