Notables: -Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) scored a goal and added an assist for CSS in the win. Waidacher leads the NCHA in goals (12) and points (22) and second in assists (11) on the season.-Nikki Logergren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Northern Stars)) scored the game-winning goal for St. Scholastica with two minutes left to play in the third period.-Paige Taylor made 32 saves for Eau Claire in the loss.-The Saints and Blugolds combined for five goals in the first period.
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – St. Scholastica women's hockey defeated the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 4-3 on Friday night at Mars Lakeview Arena behind a late third period goal from
Nikki Logergren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Northern Stars)).
CSS and Eau Claire traded chances and combined for five goals in the first period of the game.
Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) opened the scoring for the Saints with her Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) leading 12
th goal of the season from
Alex Blair (Drake, Saskatchewan/Lanigan Central HS) and
Sierra Hanowski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad HS) at 4:54 of the first period.
Exactly three minutes later the Blugolds would answer back with Jaedyn Walz finding the back of the net on the power play from Andi Husted and Ashley Baugher.
Amanda Broman (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East HS) answered back with a power-play goal of her own at 9:44 to give St. Scholastica a 2-1 lead.
Zahn Thompson (Fairbanks, Alaska/West Valley HS) and
Kelly Ahlgren (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) picked up assists on the goal. However, 18 seconds later Paige Dale would draw the score level once again.
Katie Josephson (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) scored the fifth and final goal of the first period at 16:48 to give the Saints a 3-2 advantage heading into the second period.
Kaleigh Hamann (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) added her second assist of the season.
The middle period of hockey saw significantly less scoring then the first period. Midway through the second period Ashley Baugher scored her second goal of the game for UW-Eau Claire to tie the score at 3-3 in what was the only goal of the period.
The third and final period of hockey between these two teams proved to be dramatic. Deadlocked at 3-3 with less than five minutes remaining the game looked to be headed for overtime. With exactly two minutes left in regulation
Nikki Logergren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Northern Stars)) scored her sixth goal and first game-winning goal of the year to propel the Saints to victory. Waidacher and Ahlgren each added an assist on the play.
The win snaps a four-game winless streak for St. Scholastica and improves its record to 6-4-1 overall.
The Saints won't play again until Friday January 9
th when they begin a two-game series at home vs. Saint Anselm College. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
