ST. CLOUD, Minn. – A career-first hat trick from sophomore Emma Rooks spurs the College of Saint Benedict Hockey Team (4-4, 3-1 MIAC) to a 6-2 MIAC win over St. Scholastica (1-5-1, 1-3 MIAC) on Saturday night at Ritsche Arena.

In the victory, the Bennies scored six goals for the first time at home since a 6-0 win over Finlandia on Jan. 10, 2020 and the first time overall since a 6-1 win over Bethel in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 8, 2021. It was CSB's first win over St. Scholastica, which upended the Bennies, 4-1, on Friday in Duluth, Minn.

With the win, CSB now has won four of its last five matches to move to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the MIAC. The Bennies are tied with Hamline and St. Olaf for second place in the league standings.

Rooks had her best game as St. Ben's after scoring three goals in the second and third period. She recorded the first-hat trick at CSB since Mollie Wise had three goals in a win against St. Olaf on Jan. 31, 2020.

CSB Head Coach Lindsay Macy was pleased with the resiliency of the Bennies, which will host UW-Superior at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Ritsche Arena.

"It was good to get our legs back under us after a long week when we overcame some physical adversity. I was proud of the team for flipping the switch about 20 minutes into the game and then never looking back," said Macy, who earned her fourth win as head coach. "It was a really great team win," she said.

Early on, St. Scholastica took a lead just 58 seconds into the match after Halle Field had an even strength goal off assists from Allie Bussey and Lizzie Northquest. However, it didn't take long for the Bennies to rebound to tie it up. Sophomore Jenna Timm scored her second goal of the year off an assist from Sami Hackley at 1:55 to draw even at 1-1.

In the second period, CSB outscored St. Scholastica, 3-1, to take a 4-2 lead. Just 21 seconds into the period, Corrine Brown recorded her second goal of the season on an even strength goal for a 2-1 lead. Aurora Opsahl and Ava Stinnett assisted on the scoring play. 

Opsahl tallied her team-leading sixth goal of the season at 9:39 for a 3-1 lead. Sami Hackley and Stinnett assisted on the play. Opsahl ranks third in the MIAC with those six goals.

At the 16:26 mark, Rooks started her career-best goal-scoring spree. Off an assist from Shauna Miller, Rooks scored on a power play at 16:26 as the Bennies built a 4-1 lead. The Saints responded with an assisted break-away goal from Emily Sabol at 18:37 to draw within, 4-2.

In the final period, Rooks took control and iced the win with a pair of goals. First, she tallied her second goal at 6:22 off an assist from Mia Lopez for a 5-1 lead. Then, she  scored an even strength tally at the 15:22 mark off an assist from Lopez. Rooks, a sophomore from Rogers, Minn., now has five goals on the season for second on CSB and seventh in the league.

Kate Moffat started in goal to move to 1-1 on the year for CSB with an impressive performance. She recorded 30 saves and allowed just two goals. In the final two periods, she allowed just one goal and stopped 21 shots. St. Scholastica's goalie Ashlea Arvidson allowed five goals and had four 40 saves.

Overall, CSB dominated the offensive zone with 46 shots including nine by Opsahl and eight from Rooks and Brown.