St. Cloud, Minn. – The Saint Benedict hockey team took to the ice for their final home game of the season tonight (Feb. 22) in what appeared to be an uneven battle as they took on No. 2 ranked Gustavus. Despite the difference in records and rankings, however, the Blazers finished the game only allowing one goal, but their valiant effort came up just short as the Blazers were held scoreless, dropping the 1-0, defensive bout.
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Ashley Olson,
Mara Kohl,
Catherine Pollock, and captain
Alex Carlson all looked to make the final home game of their collegiate career a memorable one and they definitely did. Olson and Kohl were noticeably physical out on the ice which sparked the defense to step up physically as well.
The true star of the night for the Blazers was
Kaitlyn Rolando, as she saved 45 of 46 shots from the Gusties, many of which were point blank. Rolando's 45 saves eclipses her previous career high of 39 and came when the Blazers needed it most.
Throughout the entire night Saint Benedict was forced to defend their zone from the Gusties who shot from every part of the ice. The lone glitch on the night for the Blazers came on a shot from Carolyn Draayer in a 4-on-4 portion of the game as both teams were hit with penalties. She was assisted by Jenna Christensen and Kelsey Kennedy very shortly after
Siri Berg-Moberg was assessed for tripping and set up the 4-on-4.
It was a great effort by both teams, especially the Blazers as they played the underdog, but the final score ends up stemming from the lack of offense by the Blazers. Gustavus shot the puck 46 times on net – not including countless others that went high or wide – whereas the Blazers only landed seven shots on goal the entire game against the first year Gustie goalie, Lindsey Hibbard.
Gustavus also dominated in the faceoff circle winning 29-of-40 draws. They were led by their captain, Lindsey Hjelm, 8-2 and goal-scorer Draayer, 7-2.
The Blazers' next game will be their final of the season as they will play at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23rd, in St. Peter, wrapping up the series at Gustavus.
