WINONA, Minn. — Freshmen
Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill. and
Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) made a lasting impression in their first games for the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team Friday evening, as the Cardinal duo each netted their first collegiate goals.
Unfortunately for the duo, UW-Superior had to rain on their parade, as the Yellowjackets broke a 2-2 tie with 2:25 left in overtime to hand the Cardinals a 3-2 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
"It's tough to lose a game that way," said Saint Mary's coach
Terry Mannor. "I actually thought we played better than I expected—being that it was our first game (and UW-Superior's fourth).
"But in the same respect, whether it's the first game of the 15th game, the goals (UW-Superior) scored can not be allowed—our mental breakdowns cost us."
The first period got off to a roaring start, as the Cardinals scored less than three minutes into the opening stanza—on Pierson's first collegiate tally—only to have UW-Superior answer two minutes later.
The second period proved to be a mirror image of the first, as Saint Mary's took the lead—albeit brief—midway through the stanza on Abraham's first goal as a Cardinal.
Two minutes later, however, the Yellowjackets pulled even once again, as Haley Olmstead beat Saint Mary's goalie
Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) from in close to make it a 2-2 contest heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the third period, and it was UW-Superior—more specifically, Lynne Larson—who broke through in the five-minute overtime, as Larson scooped up a loose puck and beat Shields for her first goal of the season with 2:25 remaining.
Shields finished with 34 saves—including all 13 UW-Superior shots in the third period—while UW-Superior goalie Kim Kobar recorded 20 saves.
The Cardinals (0-1-0 overall) get another shot at the ninth-ranked Yellowjackets on Saturday, as the same two teams square off in a 2 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
