ST. PETER, Minn. — Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) headed into the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team's game against Gustavus having seen plenty of rubber of late—stopping 30 or more shots in six of her previous seven starts.
 
But even her career-high 41-save performance against St. Thomas on Jan. 14 paled in comparison to the sophomore's effort against the Gusties.
 
Corcoran made a career-high 56 saves—including 19 in the first period and 22 more in the second, but the Herculean effort was not enough, as the high-powered Gusties handed the Cardinals a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Friday evening at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.
 
"Ashley played great—she kept us in the game and gave us a chance to pick up the win," said Saint Mary's coach Terry Mannor. "(Gustavus) did everyone we told our players they were going to do—constant movement, shoot at every opportunity, and crash the net, and that's exactly what they did.
 
"We played better as the game progressed, but it's a 60-minute game, and we did not come ready to play all 60 minutes."
 
Gustavus broke the ice at 3:25 of the opening period, as Kaitlyn Klein scored her ninth of the season. Gustavus would tack on its second goal of the game at 15:23 of the second period, on an Eric Power tally at 15:23.
 
While Corcoran was averaging nearly a save a minute in goal for the Cardinals, Amanda DiNella stopped all 12 Saint Mary's shots—nine of which came in the third period—in recording the shutout for Gustavus.
 
The Cardinals (2-9-2 MIAC, 5-13-2 overall) get another shot at the Gusties on Saturday, as the two teams head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the 2 p.m. rematch.