ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team has been feeling the love these past few weeks, winning three of four games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents. This weekend, St. Kate's was hoping to keep their strong play and winning ways alive against Hamline University, and that is exactly what they did with a shutout 1-0 win over the Pipers.

Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) was the star tonight for the Wildcats in net, saving all 40 shots Hamline sent her way. The Pipers outshot St. Kate's in every period, but Pechacek never faltered in her 60 minutes of work.

 "We played well enough to win," head coach Brad Marshall said after the game, "Kristen was sharp tonight and helped us out of numerous close calls, but I felt we did a good job keeping them on the perimeter."

Pechacek's strong goaltending started from the get go. Hamline went on the offensive right away in the first period, getting 10 shots on the board compared to the Wildcats seven. St. Kate's did have a power play chance about halfway through the period but was unable to find the back of the net. The Pipers offensive chances in the first were just as limited, as they were never truly able to take any shots from inside any of the offensive zones.

With the game deadlocked at 0-0, both teams were itching to get on the board first in the second period. The Wildcats had the first real chance to take control of the game when Hamline's Jena Kosley was called for a cross check two minutes into the period. It looked like the Pipers were successfully going to kill their second penalty of the game, until Annie Buttermore (Grant, Minn. / Mahtomedi) took matters into her own hands. After Jordan Solheim's (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Thief River Falls) slap shot ricocheted off Hamline's goalie, Buttermore took the rebound and pushed it through to the back of the net. It was the third goal of the season for the senior and was the only goal needed for the Wildcat victory.

The Pipers had multiple chances to tie the game in the third period, but the St. Kate's defense were not about to give up the lead. The Wildcats were called for four penalties after taking the 1-0 lead, and they were able to kill each one of them. They also were able to keep the Hamline scorers along the perimeter and away from Pechacek.

Pechacek had her work cut out for her as well, as she faced 10 shots in the second period and 20 in the third. The sophomore stopped each shot, and in the process recorded her second shutout win of the season.  Pechacek's previous shut out win came against the Pipers in early January. She also was credited with a shutout early in the season in a 0-0 tie against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.


With the win, St. Kate's improves to 5-12-5 on the season and 4-9-2 in the MIAC. They will return home tomorrow night to face Hamline for the third time this season. The game starts at 6 p.m. at Drake Arena.