Defender Megan Juricko’s unassisted goal just 2:52 into the first period lifted the St. Thomas women’s hockey team to a 2-0 win over St. Catherine University Saturday afternoon at Drake Ice Arena in St. Paul.

Juricko’s goal gave the Tommies a one-goal lead that they held for almost the entire game until forward Paige Baldwin added an empty netter with just 12 seconds remaining. Buoyed by goalie Alise Riedel’s 19 saves, Juricko’s first period goal was just what the Tommies needed for the win.

“Our kids are just playing with a lot of confidence. You can just feel it on the bench. They know they’re going to get it done, and for me, that makes my job a lot easier,” coach Tom Palkowski said. “Other than the first game of the year, we’ve played pretty good hockey for the most part.”

After downing the Wildcats 4-1 Friday night at St. Thomas Ice Arena, the Tommies kept the momentum going from the start Saturday. Just 2:52 into the first period, Juricko dug a loose puck off the boards in the offensive zone, went straight for the net and buried it for her fourth goal this season.

“I just kind of got a lucky tip, and their player kind of skated away. I skated to the net, so it just worked,” Juricko said.

Despite only being able to get one goal past Wildcat goalie Alex Hall, the Tommies managed a whopping 41 shots on net compared to just 19 from the Wildcats.

“In the game of hockey that’s what happens sometimes. You can dominate the game up and down, but if you don’t put the puck in the net and get that two-goal lead, it can come back to bite you,” Palkowski said. “They’ve tied us on the second night the last couple years in similar style games, so trust me, it was in the back of my head.”

However, Riedel’s stellar play and a dominant penalty kill unit shut the door on any scoring chances for St. Catherine. The Tommie penalty kill unit went 4-4 in the game and helped Riedel earn her third shutout this season.

“Our kill is definitely a little stronger than our power play. We tend to generate a lot more on our kill than we should, but we just have good girls who go to work for 2:00, and they know their job, so it’s a team effort,” Riedel said.

Palkowski attributed the success of the Tommie penalty kill to the players’ hard work and smart play on the unit.

“We take pride in our (defensive) zone, and we have for years. As far as the penalty kill, we’ve got some kids who just understand it. A lot of them are veterans now, so they’ve been doing it for a few years,” Palkowski said. “A couple years ago, we led the country in penalty kill, and last year we were in the top 10. This year I think we’re doing pretty well again, so it’s just about understanding where you need to be, active sticks and talking to one another.”

With only a 1:35 left to play and still clinging to a one-goal lead, the Tommies went back to the penalty kill; however, this time the Tommies were only down a player for :22 as Wildcat forward Annie Buttermore took a slashing penalty and effectively ended the Wildcats’ hopes for a comeback. Forward Paige Baldwin added an empty-net goal with :12 to play, her fourth goal this season.

“We’re just building off the weekend and getting better everyday, so it’s back to work on Monday and try to make something happen,” Riedel said.

The St. Thomas women are scheduled for a home-and-home series against Hamline University next weekend and will play at Warner Coliseum Friday night and at St. Thomas Ice Arena Saturday afternoon.

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.