Box Score  | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — Bethel entered Monday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team with some rather gaudy credentials:

No. 1 in the league in all three individual scoring categories — goals, assists and points — while boasting five of the MIAC's top six point-getters. As a team, the Royals also ranked No. 1 in the league in total points — not to mention the fact that Bethel was off to a school-record 9-2-2 start.

In other words, the Royals were a well-oiled, high-octane scoring machine.

The Cardinals, however, were not intimidated.

SMU held the mighty Royals to just one goal, while scoring two of their own — including Katie LeTourneau's (White Bear Lake, Minn.) game-winning tally with 45 seconds remaining in regulation — as the Cardinals knocked off Bethel 2-1 at the SMU Ice Arena.

"I'm very happy," said SMU coach Terry Mannor, whose team improved to 3-0-1 in their lsat four games. "We played extremely well defensively, and capitalized on the offensive opportunities we had.

"This was a great win."

The Cardinals got on the board first, as Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) netted her third of the year — and second in the last three games — as the sophomore took a feed from Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) and whistled a shot past Bethel goalie Erika Allen 11 minutes into the opening period.

The Royals evened things early in the second period, as Caroline Kivisto netted her team- and league-leading 13th of the season, banging home a loose puck in front of SMU goalie Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.).

The score would remain deadlocked throughout most of the third period — thanks in large part to play of Gustafson, who stopped 19 BU shots in the game's final stanza.

The Cardinals finally broke through, as LeTourneau tipped a Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) shot past Allen for the game-winner with 45 seconds remaining on the clock.

Gustafson, the reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week, stopped a season-high 39 shots in goal for the Cardinals, while Allen surrendered two goals on 29 SMU shots.

SMU (3-4-0 MIAC, 5-8-1 overall) will go for the sweep of Bethel on Saturday, as SMU heads to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for a 5 p.m. conference showdown with the Royals.