WINONA, Minn. — After posting back-to-back shutouts to kick off the season, Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) and the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team put their perfect record on the line against two of the nation's best.
 
And the Cardinals in general — and Rimstad in particular — didn't miss a beat.
 
Saint Mary's knocked off seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire 2-1 last Friday, before falling to fourth-ranked UW-River Falls the following day ­— and Rimstad was a key ingredient in the nonconference split.
 
Rimstad stopped 71 of the 75 shots she faced — and missed out on her third straight shutout by 13 seconds in SMU's 2-1 win over No. 7 UW-Eau Claire. And the effort did not go unnoticed, as the sophomore goalie was named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
 
Rimstad stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced against the Blugolds, before kicking out a season- and career-high 42 shots in the 3-1 loss to the Falcons, who led the WIAC in scoring with 160 goals a year ago.
 
The Defensive Player of the Week honor marked the second time in as many weeks that a Cardinal player was recognized. Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.) was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30, after scoring four goals in SMU's season-opening sweep of Lake Forest.
 
The Cardinals (3-1-0 overall) kick off MIAC play this weekend against Hamline, traveling to TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Pipers on Friday, before returning to the SMU Ice Arena for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.