MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey coach Terry Mannor knew that Friday’s Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with league-leading St. Thomas had all the makings of a real nail-biter.
And when the final horn sounded, the contest certainly lived up to Mannor’s expectations.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, one mistake in the third period, proved to be their downfall, as St. Thomas scored a powerplay goal five minutes into the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lift the Tommies to a 2-1 conference win over SMU at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.
“It was a great game — exactly the type of game I expected it to be,” said Mannor, whose team fell to 5-3-1 in the MIAC and 8-7-1 overall. “I thought we played very well — certainly well enough to come away with a win — we just made one mistake in the third period and (St. Thomas) was able to cash in on it.”
After a scoreless first period, the Tommies finally broke the ice six minutes into period No. 2, as Rachel Zilles beat SMU goalie
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.).
Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) pulled the Cardinals even, scoring her second goal in as many games midway through the second period.
The score would remain that way until five minutes into the third when the Tommies’ Taylor Schluter scored a powerplay goal to give St. Thomas the lead for good.
Collier finished with 31 saves for the Cardinals, while UST goalie Lindsey Wilson stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced — including all 14 SMU shots in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
“We had our chances, we just weren’t able to capitalize on them,” said Mannor, whose team will get another shot at the Tommies on Saturday, when SMU hosts UST in the second game of their two-game conference series at the SMU Ice Arena at 4 p.m. “It was a good, college hockey game — unfortunately, we came out on the short end.”