ISSUE 116 VOL 9 PUBLISHED 11/15/2002
The Oles finally gave way to the Hamline Pipers 4-3, after an evenly matched game on Saturday night. The Oles had a 1-0 lead after the first period thanks to Jennifer Lukes 05 goal and the teams persistent defense. Things turned sour for the Oles in the second period when Hamline scored twice and forward Kirsten Paulsen 06 went down with a leg injury. However, the Oles started to turn it back around in the third period. Assisted by Sarah Ray 04 and Sarah Johnson 05, Kayla Wente 05 tied the game up at 2-2. Hamline answered back with two more goals by taking advantage of breakaways and leaving the Oles defense trailing behind. The Oles rallied again with a breakaway by Lindsay Weier 06, who maneuvered the puck across the entire rink to finally score at the other end. "Coach always tells us to keep our feet moving once we get the puck, so that's what I did. I was just lucky enough to have an opening to skate the puck into the goal," Weier said. Osiecki was also partially responsible for the third period rally. Between the second and third periods he pumped the team up. "Coach is one of the most eloquent and wisest men Ive ever heard speak," said Johnson. "When he comes into the locker room, his presence gets your attention, and when hes done, you feel like you can do anything." According to Weier, the team knew what to do going into the third period. "Coming into the third [period] we knew we had to play better. The team handled Kirsten's injury well; we made the appropriate changes to account for her loss," said Weier. Down by a goal and with only a couple of minutes left on the clock, the Oles tried unsuccessfully to tie it up once again. Coach Tom Osiecki pulled goalie Andrea Smith 05 out and replaced her with a sixth player, but the Hamline defense kept the puck far away from their net. Despite their close loss, the Oles met one of the goals that they have had for each game: to keep the opposing team below 25 shots on goal. The Pipers only had 19 shots on goal, while St. Olaf had 33. This is the first game this season in which the Oles met their goal, evidence of the improvments they are already making in their new season.
"This game was a huge stepping stone in the development of our team. You sometimes gain more from losing than you do from winning, and in this game that was certainly the case. We intend to correct our mistakes and prepare for a strong showing against Concordia," Weier said. The Oles will try to move above .500 this weekend when they play at Concordia College in Moorhead. They will return to the Northfield Ice Arena on Nov. 23 when they take on St. Catherines.
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