The St. Olaf women’s hockey team took on College of St. Catherine on Feb. 14 and 15 in a pair of MIAC clashes that the Oles desperately needed to win in order to stay in contention for the MIAC playoffs.
The Oles travelled to St. Paul, Minn. for the first of the back-to-back contests. The Wildcats proved to be too strong, with Megan Killmer ’15 scoring three goals as St. Catherine pitched a 4-0 shutout over St. Olaf. Despite both sides having 33 shots apiece, the Oles were unable to convert their chances, unlike their counterparts. Goals from Killmer in the first period and Kira Kuntz ’16 in the second period resulted in the Oles staring at an early 0-2 deficit.
Killmer again proved to be too difficult for the Oles to contain, as she added to her tally with a goal at 14:00 in the third. She completed her outstanding performance with an empty net score with 2:31 left in the game.
St. Olaf was hoping to turn around their fortunes in the repeat match-up the following evening, and that is exactly what they did. The Northfield Ice Arena proved to be a happier hunting ground for the Oles as they recorded a 2-1 overtime victory.
After a first period in which neither team was able to find the net, the Oles took the lead when Katie Moeller ’14 scored at the 13:48 mark in the second period. The Wildcats fired back with a goal from Annie Buttermore ’16 with 8:46 left in the contest.
With neither side able to score within regulation time, the game went into overtime. Sara Lind ’16 scored her third goal of the season 3:59 into overtime to clinch an important win for the Oles. The Oles dominated overtime, outshooting the Wildcats 5-1 while holding a 36-32 advantage throughout the entire game.
The split series sees St. Olaf standing at 6-16-1 on the season, with a 6-9-1 record in the MIAC. St. Catherine sits just above the Oles with a 8-7-1 record within the conference.
The Oles will close out their season on Feb. 21 and 22 in a MIAC series against Augsburg College. The first clash will take place at the Northfield Ice Arena and will begin at 7:30 p.m.
