Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

WINONA, Minn. — When it comes to scoring goals, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team could be found at both ends of the spectrum through the first five games of the season.
 
In their four wins, the Cardinals had amassed 21 goals — 15 in a 7-0, 8-0 sweep of Lake Forest, two in a 2-1 win over No. 7 UW-Eau Claire, and four in a 4-2 win over Hamline.
 
In their one loss, Saint Mary's was held to just a single tally — a 3-1 loss to fourth-ranked UW-River Falls.
 
SMU's offense was back on the far end of that spectrum again on Saturday — and, unfortunately, not in a good way.
 
Saint Mary's was limited to a single, second-period goal, while Hamline got a pair of goals from Sydney Lemke — the second 1:38 into overtime — lifting the Pipers to a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals, and a split in the teams' two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series.
 
After scoring twice in the first 7:12 of Friday's 4-2, conference-opening victory over the Pipers, the Cardinals needed more than 30 minutes to get on the board in Saturday's rematch.
 
Following a scoreless first period — in which SMU goalie Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) stopped all eight Piper shots — and another 10:03 of scoreless hockey in the second, the Cardinals finally broke the ice, when Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.) whistled a wrist shot past the glove of HU goalie Kendra Nordick to give Saint Mary's a 1-0 advantage.
 
The advantage was short-lived, however, as Lemke answered Urlaub's goal with her fourth of the season at 15:06 — and the two teams headed into the locker room deadlocked at 1-1 after 40 minutes of play.
 
The Cardinals and Pipers both had quality scoring chances over the game's final 20 minutes, but Rimstad and Nordick refused to yield a second goal, sending the game into overtime.
 
SMU had a golden opportunity to claim the win, but Urlaub's break-away 40 seconds into the extra session clanked off the left goal post. Less than a minute later, Lemke would corral a loose puck in front of the Cardinal net and beat Rimstad to give the Pipers the victory.
 
Rimstad, who has started all six games in goal for the Cardinals, finished with 22 saves, while Nordick kicked out 21 of Saint Mary's 22 shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals (1-1-0 MIAC, 4-2-0 overall) are back in action next weekend, playing a pair of conference games against Augsburg. SMU will host the Auggies in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday, before heading to Ed Saugestad Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., for Saturday's 3 p.m. rematch.
  Read Full Article