St. Paul, Minn. – The Saint Benedict hockey team was able to slow the offense of a high scoring Bethel team on Friday night (Feb. 14), but the Royals got just enough for a 1-0 win over the Blazers.
 
Bethel (15-5-2, 11-4-0 MIAC) had scored at least four goals in each of their previous four wins before the Blazers (7-15-0, 4-11-0 MIAC) held them to just one. But unfortunately, the same CSB team that scored six their last time out, was shutout in a 1-0 loss to one of the top teams in the MIAC.
 
The Royals scored the game's only goal just 2:57 into the first period and then made it stand up as goaltender Erika Allen stopped all 14 shots she saw in pitching the shutout.
 
On the other end, Blazer goalie Jenna Traut (St. Cloud, Minn.) stopped 23 shots on the night, including 13 over the final two scoreless periods to keep her team in it until the end.
 
The Royal defense, stood tall in the third, holding the Blazers to just two shots on goal in the period, as they preserved the win.
 
Liz Hermes (Apple Valley, Minn.) led the Blazer offense with four shots on the day, tying for the game high.
 
The Blazers went empty handed on for power play opportunities on the day, which included two in the third period where they were unable to get a quality chance. The CSB penalty kill was equally as effective, though, stopping all three of the Royal's opportunities with the man advantage, allowing just a single shot in each series.
 
The Blazers will look to get the weekend split on Saturday (Feb. 15) when the series shifts to St. Cloud to close out. It will also be Senior Day before the puck drops at 2 p.m., as the Blazers honor their senior class of Christine Brodersen (Shakopee, Minn.), Ally Nielsen (Alexandria, Minn.) and Kaitlyn Rolando (Lake Elmo, Minn.), a class that has led the Blazers to their best season in six years.