WINONA, Minn. — It was a game of firsts for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team Saturday afternoon.
 
• First goals of the season by Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.).
 
• First assist of the season by Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.)
 
• First collegiate shutout by Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.)
 
• And—most importantly—first two-game winning streak of the season.
 
The Cardinals, behind goals by DeBartolo and Parent—and 19 saves by Shields—completed their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of Saint Benedict Saturday, blanking the Blazers 2-0 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"That's a big four conference points," said Saint Mary's coach Terry Mannor. "We are taking steps to get better every day, and this weekend was a perfect example of that."

DeBartolo, who entered Saturday's game as the team's assist leader with four—but had yet tallied her first goal of the season—got the Cardinals on the board with 2:56 remaining in the opening period.
 
Parent would push the lead to 2-0 at 4:28 of the middle period, taking a feed from Lien and beat Saint Benedict goalie Jenna Traut with the Cardinals' first short-handed goal of the season.
 
And a two-goal cushion was more than enough with Shields between the pipes, as the sophomore stopped all 19 Saint Benedict shots—including nine in the game's final 20 minutes—en route to collegiate shutout No. 1.
 
The Cardinals (2-1-1 MIAC, 2-3-1 overall) step out of conference play next Saturday, traveling to Aschwaubenon, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference showdown with St. Norbert and the Cornerstone Community Center.