WINONA, Minn. — It may seem hard to believe, but there was actually a silver lining to the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team's streak-snapping 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict Saturday afternoon.
After all, while the loss did snap Saint Mary's lengthy nine-game winning streak, the end result did not keep the Cardinals from maintaining a strangle-hold on earning one of the MIAC's five MIAC post-season invitations.
Unfortunately, a conference sweep — not to mention clinching one MIAC Playoff berths — was not in the cards Saturday afternoon.
The Bennies took the quality over quantity approach in Saturday's rematch, scoring a pair of goals on just 16 shots, while the Cardinals managed just one goal on 41 shots on goal.
After combining for five goals in the first period in Friday's game, the Cardinals and Bennies headed into the locker room after 20 minutes to play still searching for the ice-breaking first goal.
That tally came three minutes into the second period, when Chloe Lewis banged a loose puck past SMU goalie
Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) to give CSB the 1-0 lead. The Bennies added a second goal at 13:39, this one coming from Shauna Miller, giving Saint Benedict a 2-0 lead heading into the game's final 20-minute period.
Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta) finally broke through for the Cardinals, netting a power-play goal — SMU's fourth power-play tally of the weekend — less than five minutes into the third period.
The Cardinals would not be able to net the equalizer, however, as CSB goalie Kate Moffatt — who was pulled after surrendering four goals in the opening period on Friday — was stellar between the pipes, making 40 saves on the afternoon.
Saint Mary's (10-4-0 MIAC, 16-5-0 overall) are back in action next weekend, when they head to Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn., for a pair of conference games against St. Scholastica. SMU and CSS will square off at 7 p.m. next Friday, with the rematch the following afternoon at 2 p.m.
