Women’s Hockey falls in Quarterfinal opener to Saints

DULUTH, Minn. – Jossa Danis scored the lone goal for the Falcons as No. 5 Concordia Wisconsin was defeated 5-1 by the No. 2 St. Scholastica Saints on Friday night in the opening game of the NCHA Slaats Cup Quarterfinals. 

THE BASICS
-Final Score: No. 2 St. Scholastica 5, No. 5 Concordia Wisconsin 1
-Location: Mars Lakeview Arena – Duluth, Minn.
-Records: No. 2 St. Scholastica 19-6-1 (16-3-0 NCHA), No. 5 Concordia Wisconsin 12-11-3 (8-9-2 NCHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Saints struck first halfway through the opening period as Paige Forsman took advantage of a power-play opportunity to give the No. 2 seed an early lead.
-Before the first period ended, the Saints struck once more. Kayla Kasel scored 17:25 into the frame to put St. Scholastica up by two.
-Though they trailed 2-0 at the end of the first, the Falcons outshot the Saints 19-11 (10-7 on goal) in the period.
-The second period fared far better for the Falcons as they held the Saints scoreless while cutting the deficit to one. Danis (Brandon, Manitoba) scored to put the Falcons on the board, assisted by Issy Bilton (Burlington, Ontario) and Emily Godwin (London, Ontario).
-St. Scholastica opened the third period with a goal to go up 3-1. Courtney Bloemke scored the short-handed goal 2:23 into the frame.
-Greta Nundahl scored for the Saints halfway through the third to go up 4-1.
-The Saints would score once more 17:35 into the final frame as Kasel scored her second goal of the game on a power-play opportunity to set the game at 5-1.
-Christina Pattengale (Portage, Mich.) had 24 saves in goal for the Falcons. Lexi Thomeczek had 20 for the Saints.
-The Saints outshot the Falcons 47-45 and 29-21 in shots on goal.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
-To advance to the semifinals, the Falcons will have to defeat the Saints in the second game of the series on Saturday, and then defeat them once more in the ensuing 20-minute minigame that serves as a series tiebreaker.

UP NEXT
-The No. 5 Falcons continue their Slaats Cup playoff series with the No. 2 Saints on Saturday, February 23, at 4pm.