ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict hockey team got its first MIAC series in nearly two months off to a solid start Friday night with a 4-3 win over St. Kate's.
 
A penalty in the first minute of play and a pair of CSB goals in the first 10 minutes proved to be an indicator of the type of game fans were in for Friday at the MAC in St. Cloud.
 
There were five penalties and three goals in the first period alone, including the Bennies' first short-handed goal since the 2018-19 season. The third period featured three more goals – including two within a span of 10 seconds from the Wildcats – but Annika Brodt's tip-in early in the third proved to be enough for CSB to hold on for the win.
 
CSB (7-7, 3-4) was unable to capitalize on the early power-play opportunity, but scored a short time late when Shauna Miller scored her first collegiate goal off an assist from Lily Aamodt at the 3:38 mark. Saint Benedict got called for a trio of penalties in the first period, but that didn't seem to matter as Jenna Timm scored a short-handed goal at the 10:11 mark off an assist from Zoe Culshaw-Klein to make it 2-0 midway through the period.
 
The Wildcats got on the board three minutes later, and the score stayed at 2-1 heading into the second period. Four more penalties were called in the second, including three on St. Kate's (5-11-1, 1-8), but neither team was able to score on the power play. Timm notched her team-leading fifth goal of the season – and second of the game – with 12 seconds left in the period on a windup slap shot from just inside the blue line to give her team a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
 
Brodt's goal came less than three minutes into the third period off assists from Timm and Aamodt, and it proved to be the difference in the game. With the Bennies leading 4-1, the Wildcats scored at the 5:03 mark on a slapshot and then again at the 5:10 mark after a sprint into the Bennies' zone and then off a rebound on a shot that goalie Ally Frantzick was able to save. Those goals made it 4-3, and the Wildcats did their best to put shots on net, but were unable to score again.
 
Frantzick finished with 16 saves to pick up her second win of her junior season. She had eight stops in the third period alone. The Bennies outshot St. Kate's 36-19, and Brodt led the team with five shots while Timm added four.
 
The two teams play again at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at Drake Arena in St. Paul.