BLAINE, Minn. — After giving up four goals in their 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opening loss to Bethel Friday evening, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team shut the Royals' offense down in the team's rematch—limiting BU to just a single first-period goal.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Bethel defense was equally as stingy—also surrendering just a first-period goal—as the teams battled to a 1-1 overtime tie at the Schwan's Super Rink.
"I thought the pace of the game was much better today," said Saint Mary's coach
Terry Mannor. "We started out a bit slow in the first period—and when you are on the road, that's to be expected.
"But I thought we picked up our play over the second and third periods—we just weren't able to get that second goal," Mannor added. "It was a well-played game by both teams, and we'll take the (conference) point."
Just like Friday's conference-opener, it was Bethel that struck first in the teams' rematch, as Megan O'Brien beat Saint Mary's goalie
Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) midway through the opening period to give the Royals a 1-0 advantage.
The Royals lead did not last long, however, as the Cardinals'
McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) got the equalizer—off an assist from
Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) at 15:31 to knot the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
And the score would remained deadlocked through the second and third periods—and the five-minute overtime—thanks in large part to the play of Herrmann and BU goalie Maggie Straka.
Herrmann, making her second start of the season, finished with 29 saves—including 10 in the opening period—while Straka was at her best late, kicking out all 10 third-period Cardinal shots en route to a 27-save performance.
The Cardinals (0-1-1 MIAC, 1-2-1 overall) are back in action next Friday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. MIAC game against St. Olaf. The two teams will then shift to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday.
