University of St. Thomas Athletics
6-6-1, 5-1-1MIAC
St. Catherine
4-7-2, 3-3-1MIAC
Women's hockey snaps skid with 4-0 win
1/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The St. Thomas women's hockey team snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-0 win over St. Catherine University on Friday night at St. Thomas Ice Arena. The Tommies got four goals from four different players and recorded their third shutout of the year. With the win, UST now ranks second in the MIAC standings with a record of 6-6-1 overall (5-1-1 MIAC), while the Wildcats drop to 4-7-2 overall (2-4-1 MIAC).
The entire landscape of the game was nearly changed in the first period, when St. Kate's scored a goal midway through the frame, but it was called off due to a hooking penalty on the Wildcats.
After avoiding disaster, the Tommies went to the first intermission in a scoreless tie, outshooting St. Kate's 15-5 in the first 20 minutes.
UST took advantage of the Wildcats' misfortune in the second period, opening up a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Hannah Bird gave UST its first lead of the night when she scored her first goal of the season at the 3:41 mark. Bird received assists from Maddie McGlade and Tara Baago on the goal, which gave the Tommies a 1-0 lead.
Baago followed with a goal of her own late in the second. The senior found the back of the net at 17:45 of the period to give her squad a 2-0 advantage just before the second intermission. Baago's goal came with assists from Courtney Umland and Heidi Winiecki.
The third period followed a similar script as the second, as the Tommies scored in the fourth minute once again. This time, the goal came from Umland at 3:18 to give UST a 3-0 lead early in the final frame and put the game out of reach for the Wildcats. Baago and Winiecki assisted.
Junior Hannah Burns put the final exclamation point on the win at 18:14 of the third with her second goal of the year. Allison Borgstrom assisted on the goal, which put the finishing touch on the 4-0 shutout.
After the 15-5 shot advantage in the first period, the Tommies enjoyed a 15-3 edge in the second and 14-9 in the third for a total of 44-17 for the game. Each team was also 0-for-2 on the power play.
St. Thomas goaltender Taylor Neisen, who picked up her first win of the season, stopped all 17 shots she faced on the way to the shutout. Her counterpart, Kristen Peichacek suffered the loss in a 40-save effort.
These two teams will be back in action again tomorrow afternoon at Drake Arena for a 2:00 p.m., opening faceoff.
