Women’s Hockey falls to St. Catherine

MEQUON, Wis. - Playing in their first game since December 10, the Concordia University Wisconsin women's hockey team suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of St. Catherine University (Minn.) on Friday night at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

The Falcons (6-5-0, 4-3-0) outshot the Wildcats by a 36-23 margin, but St. Kate's got all it would need in the first period, when it put three goals past freshman goalie Andrea Mizanskey (Palos Heights, Ill.) to grab a lead it would never relinquish.

CUW got goals from senior Alyssa Isaackson (Marshall, Minn.) and freshman Samantha Reiter (Stillwater, Minn.) to narrow the deficit to just one goal going into the third period, but Wildcats goalie Samantha Geissler made some key saves down the stretch to preserve the victory.

The Wildcats (6-2-2, 3-1-2 MIAC) gained the lead just four and a half minutes into the game when Kayla Clafton's point shot took a deflection and sailed over Mizanskey's right shoulder.

St. Kate's doubled its lead less than three minutes later, when Katie Jirik sent a low shot through traffic that eventually found the back of the net.

Later in the period, Rachael Gasperetti gave the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage with a bad angle shot that careened off multiple skaters before finding the net.

Issackson put the Falcons on the board less than thirty seconds later, taking a centering pass from senior Hilary Christiansen (Eagan, Minn.) and beating Geissler from the slot.

The Falcons had a couple of breakaway chances denied by Geissler in the second period, before Reiter scored off her own rebound from close range, making the score 3-2 going into the final frame.

Freshman goalie Jennifer DeGeorge (Waukesha, Wis.) came in to save every shot she faced through the final two periods, but Geissler matched her in the Wildcats' net to seal the win for St. Catherine.

CUW won't have to wait long to get back in the win column, as they face Hamline University (Minn.) at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at the Ozaukee Ice Center.