NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's hockey team got goals from sophomore
Gianna Kowalkoski and senior
Emma Heath in a 2-1 victory over St. Catherine University in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) series opener on Thursday night at St. Olaf Ice Arena.
Kowalkoski and Heath scored late in the first and second periods, respectively, to give St. Olaf (4-6-0, 3-2-0 MIAC) a 2-0 lead after two. The Oles maintained the two-goal lead until St. Kate's (6-3-0, 3-2-0 MIAC) got on the board with a power-play goal with 1:39 remaining, but St. Olaf held on in its ninth one-goal game in 10 games this season.
Kowalkoski got the scoring started with time winding down in the first period, netting her first goal of the season at the 18:37 mark off assists from sophomores
Avery Shaw and
Jocelyn Orr. From the right corner, Shaw got the puck to Orr, who backhanded the puck off a St. Kate's skate to Kowalkoski, who fired the puck home to give the Oles the lead.
Heath extended St. Olaf's advantage to 2-0 with 1:14 left in the second after crisscrossing from right to left in the offensive zone to score her third goal of the season. First year
Kellsey Kludt and senior
Molly Terebayza picked up assists on Heath's eventual game-winning goal.
St. Olaf had a pair of power plays in the third period but was unable to capitalize on either chance to add to its lead. St. Kate's got its lone goal of the game with 1:39 to go, as Lilly Gillespie netted a power-play goal to give the Wildcats hope of a late comeback. St. Kate's got its goaltender off the ice with 47 seconds to go but generated just one shot on goal over the remaining time.
The Oles nearly doubled up the Wildcats in shots on goal in the game, holding a 31-16 advantage on the night. Sophomore
Baylyn Shankman lowered her goals-against average this season to 1.43 with a 15-save night, while Grassia Lea stopped 29 shots for St. Kate's.
The Oles and Wildcats will complete their series with a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday, Dec. 5 at Drake Arena in St. Paul.
