ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - (RV) College of Saint Benedict hockey team enters the final stretch of the regular season facing one of the toughest slates in Division III, beginning this weekend with a pivotal home-and-home MIAC series against (RV) Gustavus Adolphus.

The Bennies, who are receiving votes in the national polls, will host the Gusties at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6, at Ritsche Arena in St. Cloud, Minn., before traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 2 p.m., rematch on Saturday, Feb. 7. Saint Benedict is 11-4-4 overall and 6-3-3 in MIAC play, while Gustavus enters the weekend 10-7-2 overall and 7-3-2 in conference action.

Both teams are receiving votes in the USCHO and DIII Hockey News national polls. Saint Benedict has appeared in the USCHO "others receiving votes" category for three consecutive weeks and currently sits 17th in the National Collegiate Percentage Index, just one spot ahead of Gustavus at No. 18. In the MIAC standings, the Gusties hold a slim one-point edge, 24-23 for third place.

The series opens a challenging closing schedule for the Bennies, who will face No. 3 Augsburg Feb. 13–14 before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home against Concordia on Feb. 20–21.

Season Review

On Jan. 30-31, St. Benedict battled then No. 5 Hamline (now ranked 6^th in the USCHO poll), drawing a tie 2-2 in overtime (Hamline won shootout, 1-0) before falling in St. Paul, 5-1, to the Pipers. Prior to that CSB split a conference series with Saint Mary's. The Bennies earned a 5-4 victory on Jan. 23 behind two goals and an assist from first-year Helena Siska (Naperville, Ill.), while Emily Wendorf (Minnetrista, Minn.) posted a career-high four assists. The win extended CSB's streak to six straight before a 1-0 overtime loss on Jan. 24 snapped the run. Prior to that, the Bennies swept St. Catherine in a home-and-home series, winning 4-1 and 2-1. Over a five-game span, Saint Benedict outscored opponents 26-3. In the Jan. 17 victory, Camryn Hargreaves (Minnetrista, Minn.) scored, and Shae Stinnett delivered the game-winning goal with 1:46 remaining in regulation. First-year goaltender Lexi Badali (St. John, Ind.) earned both wins, stopping 40 shots and allowing just two goals across the series.

The St. Catherine sweep followed a dominant home-and-home against Dubuque, where the Bennies posted back-to-back shutouts and outscored the Spartans, 17-0. In the opener, senior Presley Kraemer (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) recorded her second career hat trick in a 10-0 win. Hargreaves added two goals, and first-year Lexi Hueller (Maple Grove, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal. Junior Savannah Wuitschick (Fargo, N.D.) earned her first career shutout with 13 saves.

The 10-goal outburst marked Saint Benedict's highest-scoring game since 2005 and the 13th double-digit scoring performance in program history.

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

Earlier in January, Saint Benedict opened the new year strong against UW-Superior. On Jan. 3, Siska recorded her first collegiate hat trick in a 3-1 nonconference win at Ritsche Arena, becoming the first CSB first-year player in a decade to score three goals in a game. Wuitschick made 19 saves for her first collegiate victory. The night before, the teams skated to a 2-2 overtime tie before the Bennies earned a 2-0 shootout win.

Saint Benedict closed 2024 with a pair of 1-1 overtime ties against Bethel. Each team claimed a shootout win, while Badali allowed just two goals over 130 minutes. Badali earned MIAC Player of the Week honors after making a career-high 41 saves Dec. 5 at Ritsche Arena.

Defensive consistency has defined the Bennies all season. In late November, CSB swept a nonconference series at Lake Forest. Merrill Delich (Andover, Minn.), Jorja Jusczak (Moose Lake, Minn.) and Regan Flohrs (St. Paul, Minn.) scored in a 3-2 opener, giving goaltender Sam Knutson (Chicago, Ill.) her first career win. The following night, Kraemer notched her first career hat trick in a 6-1 victory and earned MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Earlier in the season, Saint Benedict split with St. Olaf and swept St. Scholastica, highlighted by a four-point weekend from senior Mia Lopez (Plymouth, Minn.) and two wins in net from Badali.

By the Numbers - Inside CSB Hockey

Directed by head coach Lindsay Macy, the program's all-time wins leader with 48 career victories, Saint Benedict is averaging 3.00 goals per game (third in the MIAC, 19th nationally) while allowing just 1.82 (third in the MIAC). The Bennies hold a 29.2–25.3 shots-per-game advantage,have nine power-play goals (6^th, MIAC), and lead the MIAC and rank second in Division III with four short-handed goals by four different players.

Kraemer leads the team with 10 goals, tied for third in the MIAC (43^rd, DIII), and has recorded points in eight of the past 10 games. She now has 22 career goals with 17 assists and 39 points. Siska ranks tied for ninth in the league with 18 points and is averaging 0.95 points per game. She has eight goals and 10 assists. Hargreaves, Delich and junior Ella Tuccitto (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) have 10 points each. Tuccitto has six goals and four assists while Hargreaves has five goals (12 career) and five assists. Delich has four goals and six assists, with  three of the goals on power plays, a mark that is third in the  MIAC and 23^rd in NCAA DIII.

In goal, Badali ranks sixth in the MIAC with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage for fourth in the conference (35^th, DIII). She is third with 26.54 saves per game, recording 345 on  the season.

Scouting Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus enters the weekend riding a four-game winning streak under 27th-year head coach Mike Carroll, who owns 545 career wins. The Gusties swept Bethel and St. Catherine in their last four games and rank third in the MIAC in goals allowed at 1.84 per game. Lilly Mortenson leads the team with 21 points, while Lily Timmons has started 15 games in goal, posting a 1.61 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

Series Snapshot

Gustavus leads the all-time series 52-3-1 and has won 17 straight meetings dating back to 2015. Saint Benedict's last win over the Gusties came Dec. 5, 2015, in St. Peter, when Siri Berg-Moberg scored the overtime winner. The Bennies' last home victory in the series was a 4-2 comeback win on Feb. 1, 2014.