Blaine, Minn. – The Saint Scholastica Women's hockey team travelled south to the twin cities to play the second on a two-game MIAC Conference series against the Royals of Bethel University. Coming off of last night's 4-1 win over the Royals, the Saints went in today attempting to complete the sweep. Unfortunately, tonight's game did not go the way of the Saints, as Bethel pulled away for a 2-1 win. 

How it Happened

First Period
Period one opened quickly for the Saints. After some back and forth action from both teams, with only a handful of shots attempted, the Saints' Victoria Nelson (Mahtomedi, MN/Mahtomedi HS) struck first tonight only four minutes into the game. Nelson's goal was assisted by Alaina Hedberg (St. Paul, MN/Tartan HS) and Isabella Brama (Minneapolis, MN/Academy of Holy Angels). This goal was Nelsons' second goal of the weekend.

Following this goal, the Saints maintained control, often keeping the puck in their offensive zone, hunting for more shots. 

The Saints found themselves on a powerplay following an interference call. While on this powerplay, Bailey Coole (Duluth, MN/Duluth East HS) and Sophie Parendo (Proctor, MN/Proctor HS) each attempted shots on net before the penalty was killed off. 

The first period came to a close with the Saints up 1-0 with continued pressure from the Saints in all zones, but no more goals were scored in the opening 20 minutes for either team. 

Second Period
The middle period began with both teams going back and fourth, attempting a number of shots, and a couple of saves. But early into the period, just two-and-a-half minutes into the period the Saints found themselves on a penalty kill. 

On this kill, the Saints were able to lock down defensively, stopping any and all attempts posed by the Royals. After the two-minute disadvantage, the Saints were still up 1-0. 

The Saints saw multiple scoring attempts in the second, notably from Nelson, who found herself on an odd man rush with no one in front of her, this time, the Bethel goaltender was quick enough to beat her.

Bethel turned things up a notch in the second, outshooting the Saints for the majority of the first half of the period, and the Royals hard work paid off. Just under nine minutes into the second, the Royals evened things up at 1-1. 

The second period ended with the Saints on a penalty kill. Not wanting to go into the second intermission down, they shut down all offensive movement from the Royals, killed the penalty, and ended the second period still tied 1-1.

Third Period
The first period saw both teams put an emphasis on their offensive pressure, both teams attempting a number of shots, and preventing all of them. The first half of the final period was the fastest of the game as both teams were trying to gain an edge as time wore down. 

With just over seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, the Royals broke the tie, beating the Saints defense to take the 2-1 late in the game. 

Trying their hardest, the Saints tried to mount an offensive push, but it was all for nothing as the final horn sounded, and Bethel still had their lead. Bethel took the second game of this two-game series with a final score of 2-1. 

Goaltending
Saints, Makenzie Cole (Cohasset, MN/Grand Rapids HS): Played 59:45, faced 38 shots, recorded 36 saves, save percentage of .947
Royals, Ashley Gustafson-Hess: Played 59:58, faced 16 shots, recorded 15 saves, save percentage of .937

What's Next
The Saints (6-10-1, 1-7-1 MIAC) will host the Cardinals (6-7-2, 2-5-2 MIAC) of Saint Mary's University in the first of a two-game MIAC Conference series on Friday, January 30 at 6 PM.