ST.JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict hockey team returns to non-conference action this weekend when it travels to Ashland, Wis. for a pair of games against Northland College. CSB and Northland face off Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. match up on Dec. 9.
About Northland College
The Jills enter this weekend's series with an overall record of 3-6-1 and a 2-5-1 NCHA record in the program's second year. Northland scored big wins in its sophomore season as a program, including a win over current No. 4 Adrian in early November. They also registered wins over Aurora and Concordia-Moorhead, and played to a 0-0 tie with Concordia (Wis.).
Northland is led offensively by sophomore Robyn Matula, who has three goals and three assists on the season. A pair of her classmates, Samantha Scott and Allyson Reilly, both have a pair of goals with Scott also notching an assist. The Jills have been utilizing both of their goalies this season, as first year Gabby Suhr and sophomore Maggie Cusey have seen significant time between the pipes. Suhr boasts a 2-4-0 record with a .930 save percentage with 200 saves, while Cusey is 1-2-1 with a .933 save percentage and 196 saves.
Last Year
Saint Benedict swept the Jills last year in the opening weekend of action in the 2016-17 season in St. Cloud. CSB registered a 7-4 win on Friday night on the heels of a pair of goals by
Mollie Wise and a goal each from Brigitte Miller and
Natalie Roberts. Wise would again factor into the scoring on Saturday afternoon when CSB won by a dominant 7-1 margin. Wise,
Shelby Schneider,
Erica Borrell, and Miller all contributed goals for CSB.
Julia Carle earned the win on Saturday afternoon after only letting in one goal on 21 shots.
Who to Watch
Riley Schneider and
Shelby Schneider were the shining stars in last weekend's series with Saint Mary's. Riley assisted on both of Brigitte Miller's goals in Friday's 6-2 loss, while Shelby put on a one-woman show in Saint Mary's defensive zone to tie the game 1-1 midway through the game Saturday to force overtime. Miller is the team's current leading scorer with three goals and an assist.
Kailee Medved enjoyed an outstanding showing in her third start of the season in Saturday's overtime loss, stopping 27 of the 29 shots that she faced – moving her save percentage to .905 on the season.
The Storyline
Saint Benedict hopes to see its success against Northland from last year to carry over, as the team is still looking for its first win of the season. The team's statistics have continued to tick up as it set a season-high shots on goal with 32 on Dec. 2 in the overtime loss to Saint Mary's. It was the first game that the team had registered more than thirty shots on goal this season.
