Cyclones find Saints too tough
January 23, 2007
After coming off tough road games against second-ranked South Dakota State, the ISU women’s hockey club opened the new semester against the relentless St. Scholastica Saints this past weekend at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.
The Cyclones (4-12-1) filled the weekend’s games with strong skating, solid goaltending and teamwork, but it was not enough to edge the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division 2 third-ranked Saints (6-7-1).
During Sunday’s game, the Cyclones skated with intensity and came out strong, scoring two goals almost immediately in the first period. The Cyclones held a 2-0 lead until two unassisted goals by St. Scholastica came with 2:33 remaining in the first period. This proved to be a turning point in the game, with the Saints came out stronger, winning many more face-offs and getting to the puck before the Cyclones during the second period.
“We kind of fell into a rut and stopped skating during certain points in the game and that caused us to fall behind,” junior Abbie Lehman said.
It was a rut the Cyclones had difficulty getting out of as St. Scholastica scored three goals in the second period to gain a 5-2 lead. With 5:32 left in the period, however, a backhanded shot from captain Catherine Swoboda kept the Cyclones heading into the third period only down two goals.
The Saints scored four minutes into an intense third period, widening their lead to 6-3. The Cyclones kept in the game with a goal by freshman Dominique Lind, who also earned a hat-trick, to make the score 6-4. Almost immediately following Lind’s goal, Swoboda received a pass from junior Megan Lueneburg and scored, bringing the Cyclones within one goal at 6-5.
It appeared the Cyclones could pull off a win, but with only four players on the bench, the exhaustion proved too much. St. Scholastica pulled ahead yet again to conclude the game with a final score of 9-5 and a sweep for the series.
Saturday brought an exciting game that appeared to be in the Cyclones favor after a very strong second period, in which much of the puck was in the Cyclones control. Iowa State went into the final period ahead of the Saints, 4-3.
St. Scholastica, however, came out strong in the third period, scoring to tie the game at four with 13:25 remaining.
“We kind of let down towards the end of the third period and weren’t playing as hard as we should have,” said Swoboda, who scored a hat-trick in Saturday’s game. “Many of our losses come late in the game due to exhaustion in the third period. While our opposing teams have enough players to put fresh legs on the ice, we are tired.”
Having only two lines to shift between, the team’s exhaustion was apparent and St. Scholastica was finally able to wear the Cyclones down, scoring two more goals late in the third period for a final score of 6-4.
“We had a strong week of practice and I think it showed in tonight’s game,” coach Joe McCarron said. “They are a tough team to open a semester against, especially after we lost a couple of players to graduation. We have added a few girls to the team and I believe they are starting to fit in nicely.”
Despite the number of goals scored against the Cyclones, goaltender Katie Faulds did an excellent job in the net, saving an impressive 50 goals during Saturday night’s loss and earning 49 saves on Sunday.
“Katie Faulds played two incredible games in goal,” McCarron said. “We have a positive team that gets along well and encourages one another. If we play this hard next weekend, we expect to win.”
ISU will host Minot State at 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 p.m. Sunday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.
