WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey coach
Terry Mannor has told his players over and over and over again—there is no easy win in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
And the Cardinals learned that first-hand Friday evening in their conference showdown against St. Olaf.
Fortunately for Saint Mary's, it may not have been, but when the final horn sounded it was a win—a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over the Oles at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
"It's nice to get that first conference win under our belts," said Mannor, whose team moved to 1-1-1 in conference play and 2-2-1 overall with the one-goal victory. "I tell our players all the time—in this conference, there are no easy wins. St. Olaf may be winless on the season, but they are a good team, and we needed to play at the top of our game to beat them."
Which is exactly what the Cardinals did.
After a scoreless first period, Saint Mary's struck first, as
Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) scored her first of the season on the power play off assists from
Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and
Taylor Pogreba (St. Paul, Minn.).
The lead did not last long, however, as Jane Vezina netted the equalizer less than two minutes after Henderson's goal to knot the game at 1-1 heading into the third period.
Enter
McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.).
The senior scored her second goal of the season, again off an assist from Fadness, midway through the game's final period to give Saint Mary's the lead for good.
Saint Mary's goalie
Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) earned her keep over the game's final 20 minutes, stopping all 16 St. Olaf shots to preserve the one-goal win.
Herrmann, who improved to 2-0-1 in her three starts between the pipes, finished with 33 saves, while St. Olaf goalie Cassie Alexander stopped 20 of the 22 Saint Mary's shots she faced.
The Cardinals and Oles head to Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., on Saturday to complete the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
