By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
WINONA, Minn. — For the second day in a row, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team found itself staring at a 2-1 third-period deficit.
And for the second day in a row,
Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) would score the game-tying goal.
Unlike Saturday's 2-2 tie with UW-Stevens Point, however, Saint Mary's wasn't about to settle for a second straight two-goal performance, tacking on two more third-period goals en route to a 4-2 nonconference win over Marian Sunday afternoon at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
The Cardinals held Marian without a shot on goal until the 13-minute mark of the first period, when a three-shot flurry on a 2-on-0 resulted in the Sabres' first goal. Saint Mary's goalie
Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) stopped Jade Williams' initial shot, as well as her own rebound, but could not corral the third shot — off the stick of Mary Clark — which gave the Sabres the 1-0 lead.
Marian pushed its lead to 2-0 just 55 seconds into the second period when Rheanne Peigan's shot hit the Keeley's blocker and rolled up and over her shoulder and into the net.
Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) cut the deficit to 2-1 with her fourth of the season at 4:56 of the second period, and Hafiz worked her third-period magic — scoring right off of a face-off win from
Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) — to knot the game at 2-2.
The deadlock did not last long, however, as
Kayla Henning (Burnsville, Minn.) netted her third of the year just 41 seconds after Hafiz's tally to give the Cardinals the lead for good, and
Sam Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.) would add an empty net goal — her first collegiate tally — to seal the Cardinal victory.
Keeley finished with 17 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Marian goalie Molly Gross stopped 49 of the Cardinals' season-high 53 shots on goal.
The Cardinals (3-6-2 overall) close out the nonconference portion of their schedule with a pair of home games against St. Norbert next weekend. Saint Mary's hosts the Green Knights for a 2 p.m. matchup next Friday, before closing out the two-game series with another 2 p.m. matchup against SNC the following afternoon. The Sabres (3-7-1 overall), meanwhile, are back in action with a mid-week game at UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday. Marian and UW-SP will square off at 7 p.m. at Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point, Wis.
