NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team entered Saturday's rematch against St. Olaf having played back-to-back games in which two was the Cardinals' lucky number.
On Jan. 7, the Cardinals netted a pair of goals — including the OT game-winner early in the five-minute extra session — in beating UW-Stevens Point, 2-1
Six days later, Saint Mary's once again scored a pair of goals in battling St. Olaf to a 2-2 tie on Friday night, while earning the extra conference point with a 2-1 win in the shootout.
And Saturday, two was once again the lucky number.
Unfortunately, this time around, it was the Oles who would net two goals — while holding Saint Mary's to a lone third-period tally — in dealing Saint Mary's a 2-1 conference setback at the St. Olaf Ice Arena.
The Oles jumped out in front at the 10:15 mark of the first period, when Molly Terebayza scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season. And the only would maintain that one-gal edge — despite being outshot 12-3 — after the game's opening 20 minutes.
St. Olaf struck a second time, this time in the middle of the second period, when Iona Welsch beat SMU goalie
Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) for a 2-0 Ole lead.
Saint Mary's, which entered the third period boasting a 27-13 advantage in shots on goal through the first 40 minutes, finally got one past St. Olaf goalie Hannah Fritz on
Allie Urlaub's (Burnsville, Minn.) third goal in the last four games at 8:43, to pull the Cardinals within one, 2-1.
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get in falling for the first time since dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 1-ranked Gustavus on Dec. 3, snapping a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1).
The Cardinals (1-6-1 MIAC, 4-10-1 overall) are back in action next weekend with a pair of conference games against St. Catherine. SMU will host the Wildcats in a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, before the two teams head to Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for the 4 p.m. rematch the following afternoon.
