Yellowjackets 4, St. Catherine 1
SUPERIOR, Wis.: A big sigh of relief could be heard coming from Wessman Arena Saturday afternoon. The Yellowjacket women's hockey team was feeling some pressure, having opened the season 0-3-0 and only scoring four times in those three contests. Saturday they were able to generate some offense, and in the process pick up their first win of the 2018-19 campaign.
The Yellowjackets scored twice in each of the first and third periods on the way toa 4-1 win over St. Catherine, earning a split in the weekend home-and-home series with the Wildcats.
It didn't take long for the Yellowjackets to get things going Saturday. St. Catherine took a penalty early in the game and the Yellowjackets took advantage, as
Kaleigh Martinson (Dayton, Minn./Champlin Park) found the back of the net for the first time this season on assists from
Molly Shelton (Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island) and
Lauren Niska (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria Area) to make it 1-0. Later in the period the Yellowjackets extended the lead. With just 2:26 remaining in the opening frame
Amber Heidenreich (Phillips, Wis./Hayward) scored her first of the year to make it 2-0. The senior duo of
Mandy Tomlinson (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) and
Sam Westgaard (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) earned assists on the play.
St. Catherine cut the lead in half on a goal by Emilee Anderson in the final minute of the second period and it was 2-1 after 40 minutes.
It wasn't a one-goal game for long, however, as Martinson scored her second of the game just 1:08 into the third period to push the score to 3-1. The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring late when
Jenna Curtis (Webster, Wis./Webster) picked up her first goal of the year with 2:01 to play in the third to make it a 4-1 final.
Martinson and Shelton had multi-point games for the Yellowjackets, who got 25 saves from
McKenzie Whalen (East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks) in her collegiate debut.
St. Kate's took four penalties in the game for eight minutes, while the Yellowjackets took three penalties for six minutes. On the power play the Yellowjackets were 1-for-4 and a killed off the only power play chance of the Wildcats.
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (1-3-0, 0-0-0 W.I.A.C.) hit conference play for the first time Friday, November 9 when they travel to the Hobbs Ice Center to take on UW-Eau Claire. The opening face-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
