WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey team had it in their grasp, but let it slip away Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals watched St. Thomas score three times in the third period and walk away with its second one-goal win over SMU in as many days.
The Cardinals’
Sheree Haslemore (Gore, New Zealand) staked the team to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with a rebound goal, but the Tommies quickly tied it Taylor Schluter beat SMU goalie
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) just minutes later.
Madison Sienko (Mendota Heights, Minn.) gave the lead back to SMU with four minutes remaining in the opening period, as the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after one period.
The second period was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams boasting several good scoring opportunities. It was the Cardinals, however, who made the most of their chances, getting a power play goal by
Katie Cachey (Orland Park, Ill.) to give SMU a two-goal cushion with 20 minutes to play.
Then came the third period.
A period coach Terry Mannor would like to forget.
St. Thomas scored twice in the first five minutes of the third period, before getting the game-winner from Schluter midway through the frame.
“We competed in the first and second, and wanted to win,” said Mannor. “But in the third, we were trying too hard not to lose, rather than having the confidence that we could finish it.
“We gave them a game that should have been ours,” said Mannor. “And we failed our goalie (
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) ) in front of the net. Kaye played phenomenal but we could not expect her to stop three quick rebounds in a row.
“This weekend hurt us mentally,” Mannor added. “But we need to shake it off and focus on the rest of the season.”