MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — There were plenty of firsts for the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team Friday evening in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against Augsburg.
Saint Mary's had four players score their first goals of the season — including collegiate firsts by
Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.) and
Taverie Sherner (Maple Grove, Minn.).
And, more importantly, a first Cardinal victory.
After managing just three goals in its last four games — combined — Saint Mary's erupted for four goals, including two in the third period, as the Cardinals posted win No. 1 of the 2022-23 season with a 4-2 victory over Augsburg at Ed Saugestad Arena.
The Cardinals' struck first seven minutes into the opening period when Phillips took a feed from Taryn Dornself (Somerset, Wis.) and beat Augsburg goalie Mara McLain for her first collegiate goal.
From there,
Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) stole the first-period spotlight, as the Saint Mary's goalie stopped everything the Auggies through at her — making 20 saves to ensure the Cardinals maintained that one-goal edge heading into the first intermission.
Saint Mary's made it a two-goal cushion at 6:05 of the second period when
Taverie Sherner (Maple Grove, Minn.) joined Phillips in the Cardinal First Goal Club, netting her first collegiate goal to give SMU a 2-0 lead.
Augsburg cut the Cardinal advantage in half with a goal with 2:55 to play in the middle frame, and picked up right where they left off to open the third, scoring just 44 seconds into the period to knot the game at 2-2.
The deadlock lasted just 45 seconds, however, as
Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) found the back of the net with the eventual game-winner at 1:29 of the frame to put SMU back in front, 3-2.
Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.) gave SMU a little breathing room, scoring her first of the season at 13:13 to push the Cardinals' lead to 4-2.
And Keeley did her part in preserving the Cardinals' first win, making 13 third-period saves en route to a season-high 39-save performance.
The Cardinals (1-2-0 MIAC, 1-6-0 overall) and Auggies will conclude their two-game conference series on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. matinee.
