Box Score Box Score
The CSS women's hockey team was upset by the St. Norbert College Green Knights in a defensive battle 2-1 at Mars Lakeview Arena on Saturday Night.
The loss to St. Norbert (8-11-0, 6-8-0 NCHA) keeps the Saints winless in the all-time series after being swept by the Green Knights last season in year one of the CSS varsity program.
Most of the first period was stagnant for both teams as there was only one penalty in the period. The scoring was also nowhere to be seen until the 17:31 mark when Tara Frey found the back of the net on a Zoe Kurth assist to make it 1-0 in favor of the Green Knights. The score would remain for the next two and a half minutes and St. Norbert went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
The scoring started a bit earlier in the second period when Danielle Rozon extended the St. Norbert lead with a goal seven minutes into the period to make it 2-0. Jade Popescul was credited with an assist on the play.
At the 18:09 point of the period
Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) took advantage of a power play when she put in a deflection shot on assists from
Alana Levido (Richmond, British Columbia/Burnaby North Secondary (Pacific Steelers)) and
Cara McMannis (Holland, Manitoba/Treherne Collegiate Institute (Pembina Valley Hawks)) to cut the lead in half 2-1. The remaining time of the second was scoreless and St. Norbert once again took a one goal lead into the intermission.
The third period came with many opportunities for St. Scholastica including two power plays. The Saints had a lot of chances with loose pucks in front of the net but the outstanding play of goaltender Kaley Gibson shut down CSS on a night where she made 35 saves. An extra attacker in the final minutes wasn't enough for the Saints as St. Norbert snuck out of the arena with a 2-1 victory.
Sheridan Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Ontario Hockey Academy) took the loss for CSS making 19 saves as her record falls to 4-3-1.
Waidacher's goal now gives her a team and conference leading 14 on the season and 23 total points.
The Saints (10-5-3, 8-4-1 NCHA) will have another shot at the Green Knights tomorrow afternoon at Mars Lakeview Arena in game two of the weekend series. The 2 p.m. puck drop can be seen live on GameCentral at csssaints.com.
