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WINONA, Minn. — Heading into Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Olaf, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team — mired in a three-game losing streak — was in dire need of a spark.
And who better to light a little fire under the Cardinals than senior captain
Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Ile, Mich.)
Coolsaet had a goal and an assist — in the first period — and the Cardinals rode that wave of momentum to a 4-0 conference win at the SMU Ice Arena.
"That was a good win for us," said SMU coach
Terry Mannor. "I thought we played a pretty complete 60 minutes — which is what we were looking to do.
"We had some people step up for us tonight and that really was the difference."
Coolsaet did her part to jump-start the Cardinals Friday — but she also had plenty of help.
Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) made her presence felt, notching her first collegiate two-goal game, while
Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped all 21 shots she faced in recording her third shutout of the season.
Coolsaet helped put the Cardinals out front 2-0 after the first period, as the senior assisted on Hannula's first of the game and second goal of the season midway through the opening stanza, then added a power-play goal of her own with seven seconds remaining to give SMU the two-goal cushion heading into the second period.
The Cardinals would push that advantage to 3-0 5:53 into the second period on a goal by
Rory Petrisin (High Bridge, N.J.) — her first of the season — and Hannula would add her second of the game with an empty net tally at 11:16 of the third period.
"We needed this win — it's not that we have been playing all that poorly, we just haven't gotten the end result," Mannor said. "Tonight, we created some really good scoring chances — and converted on them — and we played well in our defensive zone.
"Now we need to keep the momentum rolling (Saturday)."
The Cardinals (4-7-0 MIAC, 6-11-1 overall) will look to complete their conference sweep of St. Olaf on Saturday, as they travel to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for a 2 p.m. rematch with the Oles.