ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – As the regular season winds to a close, the College of Saint Benedict hockey team (9-12-2, 5-9-2 MIAC) is set to face St. Catherine University in a home-and-home MIAC series on Feb. 16-17. CSB will travel to face the Wildcats (6-16-1, 2-13-1 MIAC) at 7 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 16 in St Paul, Minn. On Saturday, CSB will celebrate Senior Day as the two teams play again at 6 p.m., at Ritsche Arena, in St. Joseph, Minn. 

CSB is 9-12-2 overall and 5-9-2 in the MIAC for seventh place with 17 league points. The Wildcats stand 6-16-1 overall and are ninth in the conference at 2-13-1 with nine MIAC points. On Saturday, the CSB program will recognize the hard work, achievement and leadership of seniors Corrine Brown, Abby Nelson and Jamie Benzie.

Brown Earns MIAC Athlete of the Week Honors
Senior Captain Corrine Brown was named the MIAC Athlete of the week on Feb. 12. This is the third time in her career and second time this season that Brown as earned MIAC weekly honors. In last weekend's series against St. Olaf, she totaled five points which included two goals and three assists.

Inside Look at Saint Benedict
Saint Benedict, which split games with St. Olaf last weekend, has totaled 59 goals (2.60 per game, fifth in MIAC, 26th in DIII) and allowed 65 goals. CSB has 72 assists (7th in the MIAC, 36th in DIII). The Bennies have a 52.1 percent success rate on face-offs for fourth in the MIAC and 28th in NCAA DIII. CSB has 131 team points for sixth in the MIAC while sitting fifth in the MIAC. The Bennies, which rank fourth in the MIAC by allowing 2.80 goals per game, rank 10th in NCAA DIII in shutouts with six on the season.  

In team stats, CSB has 674 saves to 645 for their opponents. In power plays, CSB has gone 9-of-69 while opponents are 20-of-89. CSB has won 745 face-offs and lost 685 (52.1 percentage). 

About the Wildcats
St. Catherine, who is 2-13-0 in MIAC play, is directed by Brad Marshall who is in his 16th season. The Wildcats are led by Abby Pirkl with seven goals, and three assists, while Lilly Gillepsie has also scored three goals with four assists this season. In the net, Abby Severson has 344 saves on the season (7th in MIAC) with a .903 save percentage.
 
Series History
The Bennies and the Wildcats are tied in the all-time series, 22-22-8. In the last match-up, CSB took home a 3-1 victory on Feb. 18, 2023. At home vs. the Wildcats, CSB is 11-11-4 while sitting 11-11-4 at St. Catherine's. In the first match-up between the schools, the Bennies won, 5-3, on Jan 24, 1998.

Player Notes
Junior center Ava Stinnett  tallied five goals in a pair of shutout wins over Dubuque, 8-0 and 6-0 on Dec. 8-9 at home. Stinnett tied the program mark with four goals in an 8-0 win over Dubuque at home. She also had a goal and an assist against Dubuque in the 6-0 win on Dec. 9. Stinnett, who has played in 72 career games, has 220 shots on net with 25 goals and 21 assists in her career. This season, Stinnett ranks fourth in the MIAC in face-off wins with 290 wins out of 556 opportunities for a .521 percentage (16th, MIAC). A year ago, she was third in the MIAC for face-off wins against total face-offs (261-of-558). She also tied for fifth in the MIAC with four game-winning goals of the seven goals she scored last year. Stinnett has six career-game-winning goals. She has 46 career points, including 16 in 2023-24, with 17 a year ago a career-high.

A returning All-MIAC performer, Aurora Opsahl has a team-best 13 goals (7th, MIAC) this season, including four in a home series against Lake Forest. In a 4-0 win over Lake Forest on Jan. 4, 2024, she secured her first career hat trick.  Opsahl, who has played in 67 career games, has 30 career goals, which ranks ninth all-time (tied with Molly Wise, 2016-20). She has 25 assists and 55 points, which ranks 10th all-time at CSB. She is just four points from ninth (Erin Baldwin, 55, 2003-07). In her career, she has seven-game winning goals, which is tied for second all-time (Paula Vogt, 1998-01; Elli Marvin, 2013-17) and one away from first all-time at CSB (Susan Engel, 2001-05). She had a run of goals in five straight games earlier this year. Last year, she played in 26 games, with a career-high of two goals against UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 29, 2022. Opsahl tallied a goal in a school-record seven straight games as a sophomore. With a season-career-high 14 goals a year ago, she tied for 10th all-time for a season at CSB.

 Senior forward Corrine Brown, has scored four goals this season, including one against nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire on the road. She also had the game-winning overtime goal in the 5-4 decision over Concordia on Nov. 11. She now has 15 career goals, 31 assists, 214 shots and has played in 76 games. With 31 career assists, she is seventh all-time at CSB in career assists. Brown has one multi-goal performance at CSB as she tallied two goals as a junior against UW- Superior on November 22, 2022.

Junior forward Emma Rooks ranks third on Saint Benedict with nine goals this season (13 points) and has 19 in her career. Rooks has totaled 28 career points and 156 shots. She has three multi-goal performances including two goals against Augsburg on Jan. 26. She also tallied two goals against St. Scholastica on Nov. 17, 2023 and she secured a hat trick against St. Scholastica on November 19, 2022.

Sophomore forward Shauna Miller who has two goals scored, ranks seventh in the MIAC with 253 face-off wins in 441 opportunities for a .574 percentage. Miller has totaled five points as she also has three assists on the season. In her career, she now has six goals and seven assists for 13 points while totaling 58 shots and registering one game-winning goal (2023-24 season).

Sami Boerboom has two goals and four assists for six points in 2023-24. A junior defender, she now has 10 career goals and nine career assists for 19 points. She has totaled 72 shots and converted four power play goals in her career.
 
Junior goaltenders Kate Moffat  has a 6-9-2 record in 17 starts this season. In 961:31 on the ice, Moffat has a 2.81 goals against average and a .917 save percentage with 498 saves (2nd, MIAC) on the season. She is tied for CSB's season record with three shutouts (Ally Frantzick, 2022-23; Jenna Traut, 2012-13; Kate Hall, 2000-01; Kristen Blumberg, 1999-00; and Mary Welle, 1997-98). Additionally, she has 11 career wins, which is tied for fifth all-time with Mary Welle (1997-99). First-year Delaney Norman is 2-3-0 on the season and has a .905 save percentage with 171 saves. She has a 2.98 goals against average in 363:44 on the ice.
 
Blue Liners Making Impact for Bennies
A pair of defenders are leading the Bennie blue line this season by example. Jenna Timm and Emily Wendorf lead all CSB defenders with 17 total points. Wendorf has two goals and eight assists (20th, MIAC) for 10 points (4th, CSB) in her first season of collegiate hockey. Timm has seven assists in her junior season and 29 in her career. Timm, who has 11 career goals, is tied for ninth all-time with Brigette Miller (2014-18) and Annika Brodt (2018-22). 
 
Nationally-ranked at the Dot
The Bennies have two players ranked in the top 25 in faceoff percentage. Junior Shauna Miller is ranked No. 24 in Division III with 253 wins. Junior Ava Stinnett is ranked No.4 with 290 faceoff wins.
 
CSB has 5 goals or more 5 times in 2023-24 – 12 times double-digit goals in school history.
Five times this season, Saint Benedict has scored five goals or more, all victories. CSB has a high of eight in the 8-0 win over Dubuque on Dec. 8. In the history of the program, CSB has five goals or more 92 times, resulting in 87 wins against just five losses or ties. CSB has scored double-digit goals 12 times but not since a 10-1 win over Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 20, 2005.
 
CSB has registered five goals or more five times since scoring six times in 2014-15. Eight times in program history, Bennies have recorded five goals in a game five times in a season. In the 14-12-1 season of 1999-00 CSB scored five goals or more 11 times, reaching double digits four times with a high of 17 (17-1 win over Hamline, Dec. 10, 1999). From Dec. 10-11 1999, CSB had a combined 29 goals for a school mark in 17-1 and 12-0 wins over Hamline. That CSB team nearly matched it with 27 on Feb. 4-5, 2000 with 14-0 and 13-1 wins over Bethel. In the 2000-01 season, CSB had nine games of five goals or more, including reaching double digits three times. Among those explosive offensive efforts, CSB had 10-3 and 11-3 wins over Bethel on Jan. 5-6, 2001, and a 10-1 win on Jan. 19 2001 against Hamline. In both 1997-98 (11-8-2 record) and 1998-99 (11-15-0 record), the Bennies recorded five or more goal seven times. In 1997-98, twice they had double-digit goals, including 12-0 over Carleton on Feb. 21, 1998. In the final two games of the 1997-98 season, CSB defeated Iowa State, 11-2 and 5-0. The Iowa State program has since been discontinued.
 
Macy Leads CSB Hockey 
Head coach Lindsay Macy  has started her second year as head coach at Saint Benedict. In her first year, Macy directed the Bennies to a program-best 11 conference wins and tied the program-mark for total wins with 14. CSB, who had a 14-12 overall and 11-9 record for third in the MIAC in 2022-23, directed the Bennies into the conference semifinals. Two players were named All-MIAC (Jenna Timm, Aurora Opsahl). At CSB she has a career record of 23-24-2 and 16-18-2 in the MIAC.

2023-24 - Game Results (for game recap, click on game link below) 
Game 1  - No. 10 UW-Eau Claire 4 Saint Benedict 3 
Game 2 -  No 10 UW-Eau Claire 7 Saint Benedict 1
Game 3 - No. 1 UW-River Falls 5 Saint Benedict 0
Game 4 - Saint Benedict 5 Concordia 2
Game 5 - Saint Benedict 5 Concordia 4 (OT)
Game 6 - Saint Benedict 5 St. Scholastica 2
Game 7 - Saint Benedict 1 St. Scholastica 1 (CSS wins shootout, 1-0)
Game 8 - Saint Benedict 0 Bethel 0 (CSB wins shootout, 2-1)
Game 9 - Bethel 3 Saint Benedict 2 
Game 10 - Saint Benedict 8 Dubuque 0
Game 11 - Saint Benedict 6 Dubuque 0
Game 12 - Saint Benedict 4 Lake Forest 0
Game 13 - Saint Benedict 1 Lake Forest 0
Game 14 - No. 2 Gustavus 4 Saint Benedict 1
Game 15 - No. Gustavus 6 Saint Benedict 1
Game 16 - (RV) Hamline 3 Saint Benedict 1
Game 17 - (RV) Hamline 4 Saint Benedict 1
Game 18 - (RV) Augsburg 2 Saint Benedict 1
Game 19 - (RV) Augsburg 6 Saint Benedict 2
Game 20 - No. 14 Saint Mary's 5 Saint Benedict 1
Game 21 - Saint Benedict 2 No. 14 Saint Mary's 1
Game 22 - Saint Benedict 5 St. Olaf 0
Game 23 - St. Olaf 6 Saint Benedict 3