Despite the stellar play of junior goaltender Abbie Helminen, the College of Saint Benedict Blazers fell 2-1 tonight to Concordia University-Wisconsin. The Blazers stuck first in the second period but were unable to hang on as Concordia capitalized on inexperience in scoring two goals late in the third. The Blazers playing their first game of the 2009-10 season, won the faceoff battle 36-27 against the Falcons but were outshot 23-31 by the team. 

Coming out in the second period, the team showed much more intensity than the first, capitalizing on a power play opportunity at 09:18 when sophomore forward Amie Ernst (North Mankato, MN, Mankato Loyola) netted the Blazers first goal of the season. Ernst was assisted on the play by sophomore forward Kerri Graske (Stillwater, MN, Stillwater Area). But then Saint Benedict, despite having plenty of chances to go up 2-0, saw the momentum shift the other way as Concordia capitalized on turnovers and went ahead for good at 17:21 when the Falcons were able to corral a rebound into the back of the net.

Head coach Pat Michaud thought the performance of his team reflected on their youth. “Tonight was a complete lack of effort which should never happen regardless of if it's our first game or not. We were outplayed and outworked in the 3rd period. While I think we expected to make mistakes with as many first-years and underclassmen in our lineup, we have to play with more intensity than we did in the third period.”

Graske led the Blazers with six shots on goal, while senior center Janae Coauette (Crookston, MN, Crookston) tallied four, and junior center Gretchen Leyendecker had three.

Showing flashes of the team they want to be this season, the Blazers come away from their season opener with good learning experience they hope to use as they take on Finlandia University tomorrow, November 7th, at the MAC in Saint Cloud.

Final Results