ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Two goals by Emma Rooks, along with a little third period magic, led the College of Saint Benedict hockey team (3-3, 3-0 MIAC) to a third consecutive MIAC win in a 5-2 decision over Saint Scholastica (0-5, 0-3 MIAC) on Friday night at Ritsche Arena.

With the victory, CSB is now 3-0 in the MIAC with eight points in conference play just one point behind leader and No. 1 Gustavus (3-0, nine points). With a third straight win, the Bennies evened their record to 3-3.

"We had a good night across all three periods of play," said CSB head coach Lindsay Macy, whose team is now 2-1 at home and plays St. Scholastica at 2 p.m., in Duluth, Minn., on Saturday (Nov. 18). "We will look to continue the momentum tomorrow."

For the first time since the 2003-04 season, Saint Benedict scored five goals in three consecutive games, and it is the first time in school history that it happened in three straight wins. For the second straight game, CSB had a big third period in a win. In the win over Concordia on Nov. 11, CSB rallied down 4-2 with two third period goals to force overtime before winning 5-4 in the extra session. Tonight, the Bennies broke a third period tie with goals to earn the win over the Saints.

Rooks scored the first two goals of the game and now has four on the season and 14 in her career. The Bennies, which had a 25-to-24 shots edge, also had goals from junior forward Aurora Opsahl, who tallied her third of the season and 20^th of her career. CSB also had a goal from sophomore forward Presley Kraemer, who had her second this year and seventh in her two years at CSB. Junior forward Ava Stinnett added her fourth goal of the season, which ties her with Rooks for the team lead. Stinnett now has 16 career goals.

Game Summary

Rooks opened the scoring on an even strength goal at 15:32 of the first period as CSB grabbed a 1-0 lead. Opsahl and Morgan Cromwell had assists on the opening score.

At 1:55 of the second period, St. Scholastica tied the game at 1-1 on an even strength goal from Lisa LaRoche off an assist by Allie Bussey.

Later in the second period at 6:41, Rooks broke the tie with an unassisted, even-strength tally for a 2-1 advantage. Once again, the Saints answered when Abby Pohlkamp scored her first goal of the season as Kily Holtz and LaRoche had assists.

Then, the Bennies found some third period magic for a second straight game. At 5:20 of the third period, Opsahl's power play goal, off first-year Emily Wendorf's third assist of the season, gave the Bennies a 3-2 advantage and a lead they did not relinquish. Less than a minute later at 6:11, Kraemer's unassisted, even-strength goal pushed CSB lead to 4-2. Then, Stinnett concluded the scoring with a power play goal off an assist from Jenna Timm (fourth of the year) at 19:38 for a 5-2 lead.

The Bennies had a strong performance in goal from Kate Moffat, who improved to 3-2 on the season. She allowed just two goals in facing 21 shots.