FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) - Marian welcomed in No. 6 St. Scholastica to the Blue Line Friday night to kick-off the second half of the 2013-14 season. Entering with the highest scoring offense in the nation, the Saints tallied six times to defeat the Sabres 6-3.

From the opening puck drop, St. Scholastica assumed the dominant role, spending a majority of the opening frame in the Sabres' defensive zone. A few timely breakouts warranted scoring opportunity for Marian, but it wasn't until the 17:44 mark of the first period that they were able to break the scoreless tie. Finding herself in the slot, freshman Emily Everson stepped up and ripped her wrister to the top corner over the glove of Sheridan Friesen. It was only the fourth shot on goal for Marian in the period, but regardless, they found themselves on top heading to the second.

A goaltender change by St. Scholastica to start the second saw Lindsey Hartfiel assume the role of protecting the 4x6. In a span of 5:44, the Saints scored four times and jumped out to a commanding 4-1 lead. Scoring for St. Scholastica was Isabel Waidacher, Nina Waidacher, Nikki Logergren, and Briana Stephens. Head Coach Jamie Kivi called a timeout and sent sophomore Ali Glazer in to finish the night in net for Marian.

"When you play good teams, you have to play a full 60 minutes," Kivi said. "Tonight we let up at the beginning of the second and they capitalized. Outside of those seven minutes, I thought we battled and worked hard to disrupt their offense."

Showing resiliency, the Sabres continued to fight and found twine before the end of the second. Junior Nina Laurie netted her sixth of the year on an assists from junior Lauren Zachwieja to cut the Saints' lead to two.

Division-leading scorer Nina Waidacher scored her second of the night at the 8:18 mark of the third period on the powerplay on assists from Isabel Waidacher and Alex Blair. Shooting to increase their lead, Ivy Smith scored at 16:37 to bring the score to 6-2.

Freshman Rian Lennon wrapped up the scoresheet at 19:14 of the third with her third goal of the year. Junior Amanda Waigand and senior Sophie Schieldt added helpers on Lennon's goal.

"It was positive to see the girls fight back after we went down," Kivi said. "We need to continue to build on this heading into tomorrow's game." 

The loss drops Marian to 2-4-0 in the NCHA and 3-8-1 overall. These two teams will wrap up the weekend series on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Blue Line.