Duluth, Minn. – The Saint Scholastica Women's hockey team hosted the Royals of Bethel University today, January 23, in the first of a two-game MIAC Conference series. Tonight's match up against the Royals saw the two evenly matched for the first half of the game, but the Saints took things into their control, and quickly ran away with the game, winning 4-1. 

How it Happened

First Period
The two teams began the game going toe-to-toe in the first twenty minutes of play. While no goals were scored in the opening frame, both teams were fighting tooth and nail for open looks at the net. 

The Royals did outshoot the Saints 12-8 in the first period, but the Saints saw good looks from Grace Chapman (Blaine, MN/Blaine HS), Alaina Hedberg (St. Paul, MN/Tartan HS), and Morgan Mitchell (Farmington, MN/Farmington HS).

Period one came to a close with a 0-0 stand still on the board. 

Second Period
The second period saw more action than the first period, with goals from both sides coming in during the second. The Royals were the first on the board, scoring early, only three and a half minutes into the period. 

The Saints were quick to respond, just 37 seconds after the Royals netted the first goal of the game, the Saints, led by Hedberg on this goal, tied things up at 1-1. Hedberg would get the assist from Greta Culshaw-Klein (Maplewood, MN/Tartan HS).

Tied up, momentum was now built in the game for both sides. Both sides continued to go head-to-head following this brief flurry of goals, with the Saints recording four more shots on net before Victoria Nelson (Mahtomedi, MN/Mahtomedi HS) netted the Saints' second goal of the night from a difficult spot on the ice. Nelson's goal was assisted by Hedberg, giving her two points on the night in two periods.

The second period came to a close not much longer, with the royals attempting to tie the game in  the final minutes with another onslaught of shots, but Kieley Currow, the goaltender for the Saints tonight, stopped all six shots on net, ending the period with a score of 2-1. 

Third Period
The final period of action began with the Saints up 2-1, allowing them to sit back a little and pause the urgency. But the Saints still played like they were down. The Saints attempted two shots on goal to open the period up. Those two shots lead to the Saints scoring their third goal of the night, coming from Mitchell, only eight minutes in. Mitchell's goal was assisted by Sophie Parendo (Proctor, MN/Proctor HS). 

At this point in the game, the Saints were on fire, and wasted no time scoring their fourth. Only a mere five seconds after Mitchell's goal, Katie Sandelin (Hermantown, MN/Hermantown HS) received the puck from Kendra Royer (Duluth, MN/Duluth Marshall HS), and netted the Saints fourth. 

The third and final period came to a close twelve minutes after Sandelin's goal, with the Saints taking the victory handily, with a final score of 4-1. 

Goaltending
Saints, Kieley Currow: Played 60:00, faced 40 shots, recorded 39 saves, save percentage: .975.
Royals, Ashley Hess-Gustafson: Played 60:00, faced 28 shots, recorded 24 saves, save percentage: .857

What's Next
The Saints (6-9-1, 1-6-1 MIAC) will travel south to the twin cities to take on the Royals (7-6-2, 1-5-2 MAIC) of Bethel University in the second of a two-game MIAC Conference series. The second game is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, January 24, at 4 PM.