By EMILY LOOF
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — Those in attendance at the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's women's hockey teams showdown against St. Catherine Friday evening may have been expecting a high-scoring matchup—given that the Cardinals and their opponents combined for a staggering 28 goals in the Cardinals' last four outings.
 
And the Cardinals and Wildcats had their offense cranked up Friday evening, as the two teams combined for six goals in battling to a 3-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference deadlock at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
Offensive chances started early. At 6:10 of the first period, Wildcat defender Lexi Muller broke free from her own defensive zone and headed for the net of Cardinal goaltender Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.), as the home crowd watched with bated breath. But Corcoran remained calm, easily stopping Muller's breakaway attempt.
 
While the Cardinals managed 10 first-period shots to the Wildcats' five, that would be the best scoring chance for either team in the game's opening 20 minutes. The teams entered the locker room for the first intermission deadlocked at 0-0.
 
But the defensive first period would give way to a more offensive second. St. Catherine capitalized on a Saint Mary's too-many-men penalty, scoring on a Laken Miller back-door shot at 3:40 of the middle frame.
 
That Wildcat lead would not last long, however,
 
Just over four minutes later—with the Cardinals were once again on the penalty kill—Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) broke free on a deflected pass from Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) and scored a dazzling shorthanded breakaway goal between the legs of Wildcat goaltender Bryce Boreen to tie the game at 1-1.
 
The Wildcats answered with a flurry of shots—including yet another breakaway—but Corcoran was up to the challenge.
 
The Wildcats continued the offensive pressure—firing 19 second-period shots at Corcoran—and finally breaking through for a second time at 17:23, when Sara Brakke fired a shot over Corcoran's right shoulder. That score would stand, sending the Cardinals into the final frame facing a one-goal deficit.
 
The third period had the teams in a defensive showdown, as neither team managed a shot on goal until almost six minutes of play had passed. But the Wildcats' strong special teams' play continued, as they scored another power play goal off the stick of MacKenzie Ess at 7:59 of the third period for a 3-1 advantage.
 
The penalties would turn in the Cardinals' favor, when Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) was dragged down by a Wildcat defender on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Abraham successfully faked Boreen to one side, easily scoring and drawing the Cardinals back within one, 3-2, with over eight minutes remaining in regulation.
 
And eight minutes was more than enough time for the Cardinals to complete the comeback—and complete it they did. At 16:40, Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) pulled off a tricky deflection on a shot by Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.), sneaking the puck past Boreen and tying the game for a second time, 3-3.
 
Abraham nearly had her second goal of the night less than two minutes into the five-minute overtime period, but Boreen managed to deflect the close-range shot over the goal off her shoulder. Meanwhile, Corcoran made a few solid glove saves on the other end of the ice, and time expired with neither team able to net the game-winner.
 
Corcoran finished with 32 saves on 35 shots for Saint Mary's, while Boreen had 28 saves on the Cardinals' 31 shots.
 
The Cardinals (4-4-1 MIAC, 7-8-1 overall) close out their MIAC series with the Wildcats tomorrow in St. Paul, as they travel Drake Arena for a 2 p.m. matchup.