ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- With a five-game winning streak, the (RV) College of Saint Benedict hockey team (10-2-3, 5-1-2 MIAC) heads to Winona, Minn., for a pair of MIAC road games against Saint Mary's (6-6-2, 2-4-2 MIAC). The Bennies and Cardinals will square off Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m., before closing the series Saturday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at SMU Ice Arena.

Saint Benedict received votes in the USCHO national poll for the first time in program history on Monday, Jan. 19. The Bennies have won 10 of their first 15 games in 2025–26 and sit second in the MIAC standings with 18 points and a 5-1-2 league record, trailing No. 5-ranked Hamline (7-1-0 MIAC) by two points.

Season Review

The Bennies most recently extended their winning streak to five games with a home-and-home sweep of St. Catherine, earning 4-1 and 2-1 victories. Over the five-game streak, Saint Benedict has outscored opponents 26-3. In the Jan. 17 win, Camryn Hargreaves (Minnetrista, Minn.) scored a goal, while Shae Stinnett netted the game-winner with 1:46 left to play in the third period. In the 4-1 victory, four different Bennies found the net. First-year goaltender Lexi Badali (St. John, Ind.) earned the win both nights, stopping 40 shots and allowing just two goals across the series.

Prior to the St. Catherine sweep, CSB recorded back-to-back shutouts against Dubuque, outscoring the Spartans, 17-0. In the opener, senior Presley Kraemer (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tallied her second career hat trick in a 10-0 victory. Hargreaves added two goals, while first-year Lexi Hueller (Maple Grove, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal. Junior goaltender Savannah Wuitschick (Fargo, N.D.) earned her first career shutout with 13 saves in her second straight win. The 10-goal performance marked the Bennies' highest-scoring game since 2005 and the 13th double-digit output in program history.

On Senior Day, Saint Benedict completed the sweep with a 7-0 shutout against Dubuque, as seven different players scored. Senior goaltender Ellynor Haack (St. Paul, Minn.) recorded 10 saves for her second career shutout, while first-year Tana Carlson (Anchorage, Alaska) scored her first collegiate goal and Kraemer capped the weekend with her fourth goal in two games.

The Dubuque series followed a strong opening to the new year against UW-Superior. On Jan. 3 at Ritsche Arena, first-year center Helena Siska (Naperville, Ill.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick in a 3-1 nonconference win, becoming the first CSB first-year player in a decade to score three goals in a game. Wuitschick again anchored the effort in net, stopping 19 of 20 shots for her first collegiate victory. One night earlier, the Bennies battled to a 2-2 overtime tie before earning a 2-0 shootout win.

Prior to the Superior series, Saint Benedict and Bethel skated to a pair of 1-1 overtime ties in MIAC play. CSB earned the extra league point with a shootout win in the opener, while the Royals responded with a shootout victory in the rematch. Badali allowed just two goals over 130 minutes. Badali earned MIAC Player of the Week honors after posting a career-high 41 saves on Dec. 5 at Ritsche Arena, the most by a CSB goalie since January 2024 and the second-highest single-game total by any MIAC goaltender this season.

Saint Benedict's defensive consistency was also evident during a late-November nonconference sweep at Lake Forest. The Bennies opened the series with a 3-2 win behind goals from Merrill Delich (Andover, Minn.), Jorja Jusczak (Moose Lake, Minn.) and Regan Flohrs (St. Paul, Minn.), with Flohrs scoring her first collegiate goal. The win marked the first career victory for goaltender Sam Knutson (Chicago, Ill.). The following night, Kraemer recorded her first career hat trick in a 6-1 win, earning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Earlier in the season, the Bennies split a conference series with St. Olaf and swept St. Scholastica in mid-November. That weekend featured a four-point performance from senior Mia Lopez (Plymouth, Minn.) and two wins in goal from Badali.

By the Numbers – Saint Benedict

Led by head coach Lindsay Macy, the program's all-time wins leader with 47 career victories, the Bennies are averaging 3.27 goals per game (third in the MIAC) while allowing just 1.73 (third). Saint Benedict holds a 31.2-to-22.9 edge in shots per game and has scored eight power-play goals and three short-handed goals this season.

Kraemer leads the Bennies with eight goals, tied for second in the MIAC, and has now scored 20 career goals. Her two hat tricks this season are the program's first by a single player since 2001. With five assists, Kraemer has 13 points and has recorded points in six straight games.

Delich has four goals and six assists for 10 points, while Stinnett has three goals and six assists for nine points. Junior Ella Tuccitto (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) has eight points on five goals and three assists, and Hargreaves has added four goals and four assists for eight points. In goal, Badali ranks fourth in the MIAC with a 1.43 goals-against average and third in saves per game (24.56) and save percentage (.944). As a team, the Bennies own a .924 save percentage and a 1.70 goals-against average, both third in the league.

Scouting the Cardinals

Saint Mary's, led by second-year head coach Heath Isaacson, enters the weekend with a 6-6-2 overall record and a 2-4-2 MIAC mark. The Cardinals average 1.57 goals per game and allow 2.29 per game. Goaltender Magali Fillion posts a 2.20 goals-against average and has 193 saves (21.44 per game). Offensively, Saint Mary's is led by Sophia Paduano, who has six goals and ranks tied for 10th in the MIAC.

Series Snapshot

Saint Mary's leads the all-time series, 37-17-3. The Cardinals earned a 3-2 win in the most recent matchup. On the road, CSB is 8-17-2 in the series. The first meeting between the programs came Jan. 10, 1998, a 3-2 Saint Benedict win. CSB's last victory over Saint Mary's was a 2-1 decision on Feb. 3, 2024.