St. Cloud, Minn. – An early goal was all the Saint Benedict hockey team would get tonight (Feb.7) falling 4-1 at home to Hamline.
 
The visiting Pipers (5-13-2, 1-10-2 MIAC) scored four unanswered goals – getting their final tally on an empty netter – in getting their first conference win, while goaltender Katie Beckman turned away 33 Blazer shots to preserve the win.
 
The Blazers (6-14-0, 3-10-0 MIAC) struck first, taking a 1-0 lead less than six minutes into the game on Elli Marvin's (Shoreview, Minn.) fifth goal of year. Marvin powered the puck through a scrum in front of the net, scoring for the third straight game. Marvin now has 12 points on the year, including five in the last three games.
 
But the Pipers came right back with two goals of their own before the period would end, striking twice right in front of the net.  The go-ahead goal came after back-to-back saves from Blazer netminder Jenna Traut (St. Cloud, Minn.). After the second shot, the Pipers' Corinne Henning slipped the loose puck just under Traut's arm.
 
After the Pipers went up 3-1 in the second, the Blazers turned up the heat in the third, piling up 14 shots in the period compared to just five for Hamline.
 
Despite their offensive efforts, though, Hamline's Beckman stood tall, stopping them all. With 1:46 remaining Traut was pulled for the extra skater, but the Blazers would get just one shot off – from the stick of Stephanie Kirk (Minnetonka, Minn.) – before the Pipers found the empty net.
 
Kirk led the way with five shots on the day, while Marvin added four. Six other players finished with three shots on the day, as the Blazers piled up 34, their highest total since before the break. On the defensive end the 21 they allowed is also their best tally since the holidays, but the Pipers found enough loose pucks to make them count.
 
The Blazers and Pipers will close out the series tomorrow in St. Paul, dropping the puck at 2 p.m.