ST. PAUL, Minn. — It's been a crazy start to 2022 for the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team.
The Cardinals kicked off 2022 playing four games in a six-day span — from a Jan. 1 showdown with third-ranked UW-Eau Claire to a first-ever meeting with Worcester State on Jan. 6.
Fourteen days later, however, and the Cardinals had yet to play their fifth game of 2022.
That all changed Friday evening, as Saint Mary's finally took the ice again, squaring off against Hamline in a battle of conference heavyweights.
It took Saint Mary's offense two periods to finally return from its January "break," but once it did, the Cardinals were unstoppable.
Staring at a 2-0 deficit after two periods, the Cardinals erupted for three third-period goals — including
Delaney Wolf's (Bismarck, N.D.) game-winner with less than five minutes remaining in regulation — en route to a 3-2 conference win over the Pipers at TRIA Rink.
For the final 19:41 of the game's first 20-minute period, the Cardinals and Pipers battled to a scoreless deadlock.
It was that first 19 seconds of the first period that proved costly for SMU, as Hamline's Nikki Olund scoring on HU's first shot on goal to give the Pipers an early 1-0 advantage — an advantage they would maintain into the second period, when Olund netted her second of the game at 4:06 to make it 2-0.
After two scoreless periods, the Cardinals' offense finally showed signs of life in the third, as
Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.) netted her first of the season — off an assist from
Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) — to get Saint Mary's within one, 2-1, with 13 minutes to play in regulation.
Four minutes later, the Cardinals were finally back to even with the Piper, as
Abigail Painovich (Hinckley, Minn.) picked the ideal time to record her first collegiate goal, beating HU goalie Ava Bailey just four minutes after Kraus's tally. Braun once again picked up the lone assist for her first career two-point outing.
The game did not remain tied for long, however, as Wolf scored Saint Mary's third goal of the third period — an unassisted tally at 15:54 — to give the Cardinals a 3-2 advantage.
Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) did her part between the pipes for the Cardinals, stopping 23 of the 25 shots she faced, while Bailey recorded 28 saves in goal for Hamline.
The Cardinals (6-1-0 MIAC, 9-5-0 overall) and Pipers (5-2-0 MIAC, 6-5-0 overall) are back in action on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the 2 p.m. conference rematch.
