UW-Stevens Point jumped out to an early lead, scoring the only goal of the first period and taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. St. Olaf’'s Janae Fabini ‘'08 evened the score on a power play goal minutes into the second period on assists from Kim McClintick '’10 and Kari McClintick ‘'10. Fabini’s goal would be the only offensive tally for the Oles. A strong UW-Stevens Point’s defense held the Oles to just 16 shots on the game. The Ole defense was not as fortunate, as the Pointers scored four second period goals to earn a 5-1 lead by the second intermission, and added two more goals in the third period to make the final score 7-1.

St. Olaf goalie Shannon Herrick ‘'09, who started 26 of the Oles’ 27 games last season, stopped 32 shots on the afternoon for a 0.820 save percentage.

The Oles now enter a two week stretch of the season with no games, after which they will face a powerful St. Thomas team in a home-and-home series. Currently 1-1-0, St. Thomas is ranked 10th in the nation.

Though the Tommies defeated the Oles twice last season, the Oles nearly bested the Tommies on the road. With two weeks of preparation the Oles should be mentally, physically and strategically prepared to take on a tough Tommy team.

This season brings many changes to the St. Olaf hockey team, including a schedule with even amounts of home and away games and their first stable head coach in four seasons. Last season head coach John Bazzachini (then interim head coach) led the Oles to a 10-8-0 MIAC record and the team’'s first playoff berth in its eight year history. MIAC prognosticators note that Bazzachini, blessed with a talented first-year class and returning starters Fabini, Herrick, Susannah Brokl ‘'07 and Lindsey Boeser ‘'08, is well-positioned to coach the Oles to a second MIAC playoff appearance.

Printer friendly version | Email this | Write the editors | More articles by Matthew Stortz