MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Junior goaltender Kalli Engen stopped 18 of 21 shots in her first collegiate start to lead the St. Thomas women’s hockey team to a 4-3 win against Concordia-Moorhead Wednesday at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
The Tommies (5-1) went back and forth in a scoring battle with the Cobbers (1-1-1) throughout all three periods, but Engen finished the game strong, killing off a power play with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
“I was a little nervous after not starting for two years,” Engen said. “It feels really good.”
In the first six games this season, 16 different skaters have scored a goal for the Tommies.
The Tommies are averaging 1.7 more goals per game than last season.
“We’re scoring goals at a better clip than in the past.” Coach Tom Palkowski said. “I think we’ll just continue to score more.
The Tommie penalty kill played a key role in the win, shutting down four of five opportunities for the Cobbers.
“We were fighting it tonight,” Palkowski said. “It wasn’t our A game but, I told the girls you got to dig in and it’s okay to win an ugly game.”
The Tommies took a 2-0 lead late in the first period. Sophomore defender and forward Maija Almich and senior defender Kate Winiecki scored their first goals of the season back to back with only minutes left in the period.
“We didn’t have our best, crisp game,” Almich said. “But it came down to the grit and winning the battles.”
The Cobbers started the second period with a goal from first-year forward Jerica Friese, but first-year forward Lauren Einan answered quickly for the Tommies with her first collegiate goal.
“It was nice to finally get it,” Freise said. “I feel a little bit more calm after.”
Concordia-Moorhead senior defender Megan Mohr scored again with just over three minutes left in the second period, putting the score at 3-2.
St. Thomas junior forward Chloe McEnelly opened scoring just over four minutes into the third period, putting the Tommies ahead 4-2. Concordia-Moorhead junior forward Libby Hinrichs scored unassisted with ten minutes left in the game, making the score 4-3.
St. Thomas’ defense held onto the lead, killing a penalty with just over five minutes left in the game, and stopping an extra attacker in the last minute.
‘We killed it off really well,” Engen said. “I think my adrenaline was going after that. The last five minutes usually go way longer than it feels, it’s really intense.”
The Tommies will try to extend a four-game win streak on Saturday when they take on St. Mary’s University at 2 p.m. at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.