The Tommies celebrate together on the ice. St. Thomas defeated Providence 5-1 Saturday afternoon for their first victory at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena. (Nathaniel Marquardt/The Crest) 
UST improved to 7-3 overall on the season. (Nathaniel Marquardt/The Crest) 
Graduate goaltender Julia Minotti only let one shot past her in Saturday’s win. (Nathaniel Marquardt/The Crest) 
Junior defender Ellah Hause entered the week with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s defender of the week award. (Nathaniel Marquardt/The Crest)
St. Thomas women’s hockey defeated Providence 5-1 Saturday afternoon at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
After a quiet first period with just five shots on goal from each team, St. Thomas exploded offensively in the second, outshooting Providence 15-4. Coach Bethany Brausen said making simple plays and keeping possession led to the dominant offensive performance.
“A lot of the time shots build on each other,” Brausen said. “I think that’s where you see building of shots is sustained zone pressure and putting into spaces. And when you do that shift after shift, those rebound opportunities really start to add up.”
First-year forward Whitney Horton broke the scoreless tie midway through the second period, netting her second goal of the series to put St. Thomas on the board.
Brausen said Horton “has arrived.”
“She really has demonstrated such a high level of commitment to learning the game,” Brausen said. “So I’m really happy for her to not only get her first goal, but her second college goal in two games here at home. She’s certainly deserving of it, and playing the game the right way.”
A few minutes later, Tommies earned a power play after a Providence body check penalty. Sophomore forward Chloe Boreen doubled the lead on the power play – her fourth of the season – giving the Tommies a 2-0 lead. St. Thomas leads the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a .333 power-play percentage.
The Friars cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the third period off of graduate goalie Julia Minotti’s sleeve and a bounce into the net, but the Tommies quickly regained control. Junior forward Rylee Bartz buried her seventh goal of the season a few minutes later to restore the two-goal cushion.
With just under five minutes left, junior forward Ella Boerger scored her second goal of the series. The play, initially ruled a no-goal, was overturned to give St. Thomas a 4-1 lead. Boerger’s night was dominant beyond the scoresheet; she went 12-5 in faceoffs and leads the WCHA with a .736 faceoff percentage alongside Bartz in second with a .611 percentage.
Sophomore forward Nora Sauer sealed the game with an empty-net goal late in the game, assisted by sophomore forward Ilsa Lindaman and junior defender Ellah Hause.
Hause was named defender of the week in the WCHA on October 20.
St. Thomas improved to 7-3 and got their first win at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
“It feels amazing,” Brausen said. “I think our players have been so deserving and is really celebrating them and everything that they have put into the matches this weekend. It’s certainly a testament to them and a proud moment, not only for them, but all of our alumni as well.”
Reagan Boschulte can be reached at bosc3829@stthomas.edu.
