MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Junior goalie Eryn Cooley kept the St. Thomas women’s hockey team with the lead throughout the game, propelling the Tommies to win 3-0 against St. Mary’s University Sunday afternoon at Saint Thomas Ice Arena in their last home game of the season and as a Division III school.
Cooley earned a shutout, stopping all 11 shots that came her way from St. Mary’s.
“I’m just really proud of the way that we came out hard, especially after a loss last night,” Cooley said. “I’m just really proud of the way that the girls battled them.”
No seniors played today, after all of them opted out of the remainder of the season after their second COVID-19 shutdown.
“I gave the whole team three options: they can opt out, we could continue to practice with no games then only have to test (for COVID-19) once a week, or they could continue,” coach Tom Palkowski said. “Our seniors … respectfully opted out.”
Palkowski noted that some of the seniors have been in quarantine “four or five times.”
“They just emotionally were spent, and I respected that decision,” Palkowski said.
After a scoreless first period, which saw the Tommies take 18 shots, junior defender Grace Webert scored her first goal of the season in the middle of the second period, assisted by sophomore forward/defender Maija Almich.
“It was fun,” Webert said. “Especially as the last D-3 game at this rink, that makes it more memorable.”
Junior forward Anna Erickson, on her 21st birthday, scored her third for the season with three seconds left in the second period, assisted by Almich and first-year forward Alli Pitlick.
First-year forward Fiona Claugherty scored her fourth of the season, unassisted, on an empty-net goal, with just over a minute left in the third period.
The Tommies shot 47 times to St. Mary’s senior goalie Ary Ziakas, with St. Thomas’ first goal from Webert going in on the 31st shot.
The Tommies will travel to St. Mary’s for one more game Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.