The Oles opened their conference season against St. Ben’s on Nov. 19, earning a close 2-1 victory over the Blazers.

The Oles’ solid defensive crew prevented the Blazers from setting up scoring opportunities, and St. Olaf netminder Kerry Rollwagen ’05 stopped 17 of St. Ben’s 18 shots in a stellar performance in goal.

Lindsay Boeser ’08 scored first for St. Olaf, netting her third goal of the season on assists from Lindsay Weier ’06 and Susannah Brokl ’07. Katie Bennett ’08 scored St. Olaf’s second goal, also her second of the season, receiving assists from Laura Wild ‘08 and Kate Barnett ‘05.

Despite their close match the previous night, the Oles played well in their second game against St. Ben’s, handily defeating the Blazers 4-0. Andrea Smith ’05 performed brilliantly in goal for the Oles, stopping all 19 St. Ben’s shots. The Ole offense supplemented Smith’s excellent work in the net by peppering the St. Ben’s defense with a jaw-dropping 48 shots.

Brokl netted St. Olaf’s first two goals in the first period, with Weier adding two more as the period closed. Wild, Boeser, Melissa Mueller ’06 and Janae Fabini ’08 each earned assists.

With the two victories, St. Olaf improved to 4-2-0 overall and is in a four-way tie for the conference lead with four points.

MIAC observers have noted that St. Olaf’s exceptionally talented team is also exceptionally young: Five of the top six goal scorers and point earners are first-year players. As those players become accustomed to collegiate play, they should be valuable assets as the Oles push toward the playoffs.

The women resume MIAC play this weekend, hosting St. Thomas at the Structure Friday and traveling to St. Paul Saturday for another tussle with the Tommies. Friday’s contest begins at 7 p.m. while Saturday’s matchup gets underway at 2 p.m.

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