APPLETON, Wis. — After back-to-back shutout losses to No. 1-ranked Gustavus last weekend, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team's offense was in dire need of a jump-start.
And the Cardinals used host Lawrence as their jumper cables.
Saint Mary's scored single goals in all three periods, and the Cardinals dominated from start-to-finish — outshooting the Vikings 59-15 — en route to a 3-0 nonconference victory Friday night at the Appleton Ice Center.
Saint Mary's wasted no time getting its offense warmed up, as
Jenna Kurkowski (North Branch, Minn.) netted her first of the season before most of the fans in attendance could get comfortable in their seats — beating LU goalie Charlie Prior just 37 seconds into the opening period.
Over the next 19:27, however, Prior kicked out everything the Cardinals threw at her, keeping the Vikings within one goal — despite SMU's 28-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Saint Mary's struck early again to kick off the second period, as
Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) beat Prior to push the Cardinals' lead to 2-0 just 2:25 into the middle frame.
And, as was the case in the first period, Prior shut the door the rest of the way, stopping 16 of SMU's 17 second-period shots, leaving the Cardinals with a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
The Cardinals netted yet another solo goal in the final stanza on a
Sydney Green (East Bethel, Minn.) tally eight minutes in — and three goals was more than enough to give SMU the shutout win.
Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) picked up her fourth career shutout, stopping all 15 Lawrence shots, while Prior finished with 56 saves between the pipes for the Vikings.
The Cardinals (2-9-0 overall) and Vikings will square off again on Saturday, as the two teams return to the Appleton Ice Center in Appleton, Wis., for a 3 p.m. nonconference rematch.
