BLAINE, Minn. – After a tough season in 2017-18, the College of Saint Benedict hockey team wanted a fresh start – a good start – to the 2018-19 season.
 
CSB got off to the best start it could have imagined Friday night as it scored five goals – three in the first period alone – to beat Chatham University 5-1 at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine to help first-year head coach Nick Thibault start his collegiate coaching career with a win. Five goals is the most in a game for CSB since it scored six against Concordia on Nov. 12, 2016. 
 
Saint Benedict (1-0) kept Chatham on its toes all night. CSB had several early shots on net on the Cougars, and the team's first goal of the new season came at the 6:09 mark when Mollie Wise scored on a short shot in front of the net.
 
CSB made it 2-0 four minutes later when Reegan Patnode scored the first goal of her CSB career at the 10:20 mark off an assist from Grace Laudenbach. Chatham (0-1) made it a 2-1 game at 11:36 with an unassisted goal, but CSB scored again 30 seconds later to push its lead back to two. Riley Schneider netted her first goal of the year off an assist from Courtney Conlin to make it 3-1, and that's where the score would stay to end the period.
 
It didn't take long for CSB to add another tally behind its name in the second period as first year Annika Brodt scored the first goal of her college career on a breakaway just 1:18 into the period to make it 4-1. CSB outshot the Cougars 17-4 in the second period, but Brodt's was the only goal, and the 4-1 lead held until the final two minutes of the game.
 
After adding a dozen more shots on net to its total in the final period, Saint Benedict made it 5-1 with just over a minute left to play when Maddie Dockry took a pass from Conlin and went top shelf over the Chatam goalie's left shoulder to score her first goal of the season.
 
When all was said and done, CSB had 45 shots on net to Chatham's 16. Saint Benedict hit double-digit shots on net in each period, and didn't give up more than seven shots on net in any given period. Goalie Kailee Medved started her sophomore season with a win after making 15 saves. CSB also won the faceoff battle, 44-21.
 
CSB is back in action in Blaine Saturday at 2 p.m. when it hosts Concordia-Wisconsin. The two teams play on Rink 5 at the Schwan Super Center.