Forward Kathryn Larson’s goal just over five minutes into the third period broke a 1-1 tie and helped catapult the No. 4-ranked St. Thomas women’s hockey team to a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s Saturday afternoon at St. Thomas Ice Arena and push the Tommies’ unbeaten streak to nine games.

Winners of seven straight, St. Thomas (10-1-1 overall, 5-1-1 MIAC) hasn’t dropped a game since a 6-4 loss to Gustavus on Nov. 13, and a 2-2 tie against Bethel on Nov. 20 was the last tilt in which the Tommies didn’t secure a victory.

“I feel like we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now, and it’s really showing on the ice,” Larson said.

The Tommies kept their run of success alive after an 11-day trip to Italy over holiday break. Coach Tom Palkowski called the win over the Cardinals (4-8-1 overall, 3-3-1 MIAC) a “good way to start back” coming off break.

“We played pretty darn well throughout the game. We controlled the play,” Palkowski said. “That was the effort I was looking for, and I told the girls that might have been our best 60 (minutes) of the year.”

After a scoreless first period, St. Mary’s cashed in on a golden opportunity midway through the second frame. The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 lead on forward Jamie Henderson’s team-leading ninth goal of the season at the 10:44 mark. Playing with confidence that a team on a roll would rightfully display, the Tommies quickly answered back.

“We got down, but we didn’t get down in our heads,” Larson said. “We know we could fight back and get the win.”

Forward Courtney Umland found the back of the net for a power-play goal at 11:21 of the second period to tie the game 1-1. Forward Leah Schwartzman and Larson picked up the assists on Umland’s tally.

Larson’s third-period goal, her team-high eighth on the season, gave St. Thomas its first lead of the game, and forward Kaylee Druk’s goal just under five minutes later helped seal the win for the Tommies.

While St. Thomas peppered St. Mary’s goaltender Tori Herrmann with 41 shots, the Tommies clamped down and suffocated the Cardinal offense for a majority of the game. Netminder Kenzie Torpy turned away 16 chances to secure her 10th win of the season.

“Everyone did their job really well tonight in the (defensive) zone picking up girls and covering when someone got beat,” defenseman Megan Juricko said. “Our goalie played great too when we needed her.”

St. Thomas travels to Winona Sunday to complete its home-and-home series with the Cardinals, and the Tommies sit just one point back from Concordia-Moorhead for first place in the MIAC standings.

“Right now, we’re playing the best hockey that I’ve seen all year, and it’s great because this is when we need it most,” Juricko said.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.