NORTHFIELD, MINN. – Through the first half of the 2017-18 season, the St. Catherine University hockey was defined by its strong defensive play. Unfortunately, St. Kate's struggled to score through its first 12 games of the season.

As of this past weekend, scoring is no longer the Wildcats problem.

After scoring a season high five goals in a 5-3 win over St. Olaf College Friday evening, St. Kate's opened fire in Saturday afternoon's nightcap. The Wildcats defeated the Oles 6-2 despite being outshot 30-25 to earn their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep of the 2017-18 season.

Unlike Friday night, neither team got through the first period unscathed in terms of scoring. Fortunately, it was St. Kate's who found the back of the net first. Just like on Friday, the Wildcats scored two goals less than 30 seconds apart to take a quick 2-0 lead over St. Olaf early in the first period. Ashlyn Rakos (Waconia, Minn. / Holy Family) kicked things off for St. Kate's, scoring her second goal of the year to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead at 5:55 in the first period. Twenty-six seconds later, Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) scored her second goal of the weekend off a pass from sister Lexi to extend St. Kate's lead to 2-0.

The Oles did manage to score on senior goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) 45 seconds later. Xandi Swedberg beat Pechacek on the glove side at 7:16, cutting the Wildcats lead to 2-1. After giving up that initial goal, though, Pechacek was flawless in the remaining 12:44 in the period, as she stopped 13 of the 14 shots she faced in the period.

The first period closed with St. Kate's up 2-1, and the Wildcats didn't wait long in the second period before retaking a two-goal lead. At 2:49, Melissa Smith (Maplewood, Minn. / Hill-Murray) scored her first goal of the season after Tori Thompson's (Rochester, Minn. / John Marshall) slap shot ricocheted off the St. Olaf goalie's pad to give St. Kate's a 3-1 lead. That score held until the 18^th minute, when Lexi Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) also scored her first goal of the season to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Wildcats weren't able to score in the final minute of the second period, but they were able to score their fifth goal of the game at 6:24 in the third. With the Ole goalie pulled off the ice and sitting on the bench. Brede Postier (Byron, Minn. / Dodge County) scored the empty netter to extend St. Kate's lead to 5-1. Although St. Olaf did manage to score its second goal of the game a few minutes later, Emilee Anderson (Chanhassen, Minn. / Chanhassen) stopped any thought of a rally with a goal of her own, resulting in the 6-2 final.

Laken Muller tallied her third multi-point game of the season in the victory, thanks to her first period goal and assist on Anderson's goal in the third period. She concluded the weekend with five total points and now leads the team in goals (6) and points (10) and is tied for the lead in assists (4).

Pechacek earned her third win of the season thanks to a 28 save performance. The senior goalie faced 30 shots in 60 minutes of play and made 28 saves, giving up just the first and third period goals to the Oles.

Thanks to Saturday's win, St. Kate's is now 3-11-0 overall and 2-6-0 in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the ice on Friday, January 19 when they travel to Winona, Minnesota to take on Saint Mary's University at 7 p.m. St. Kate's will then host the Cardinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 20.