Post-Game Interview with Amanda Waigand, Ali Glazer, and Nina Laurie

Post-Game Interview with Jamie Kivi and Mike Pogorelec

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) - After laying claim to victory on Friday night by a 6-3 margin, St. Scholastica returned to the Blue Line on Saturday, January 11 with the hopes of finishing off the Sabres for the weekend series. The quest would be derailed thanks largely in part to junior Amanda Waigand's third period hat-trick, as Marian pulled the upset 5-2.

Despite dropping Friday night's NCHA contest, the Sabres put forth a valiant effort, fighting back and failing to give up. That sense of commitment and determination would make an appearance on Saturday.

The Saints jumped on the board first, scoring at 10:33 of the first period. Taylor Guzzo grabbed her second goal of the season on assists from Sierra Hanowski and Monika Waidacher. With seven shots in the period, the Sabres were unable to best Lindsey Hartfield and would head to the locker room trailing by one.

Just before the halfway mark of thes second period, junior Nina Laurie returned to the scoresheet for the second night in a row, capitalizing on the feed from freshman Sarah Bier. Sophomore Ali Glazer was tested time and time again, but kept Marian in the game, turning away all 15 shots she saw in the period.

"When I get a lot of shots it keeps me in the game and gets me pumped up," Glazer said. "Then when I see my players blocking shots, it gets me jacked."

At 11:25 of the third period, St. Scholastica made their push forward on a goal from Michelle Rebeck, her second of the year. Head Coach Jamie Kivi took her timeout with 3:55 remaining in the third to rally her troops and charge them to fight for the comeback. What ensued, no one could have predicted.

Less than two minutes after the timeout was taken by the Sabres, Waigand scored her eighth goal of the year on an assist from Laurie. Despite finding the equalizer, the Sabres weren't satisfied, and kept pushing the envelope, only to be rewarded a minute later.

At 18:54, Waigand scored again, slotting home the rebound created by junior Brittany Syms. As the tides had quickly turned, it was now St. Scholastica's turn to take a timeout and recollect themselves as they were staring a "David vs. Goliath" upset square in the eyes.

"I think we knew [that we had the chance to win] last night, because we gave up a couple minutes in that game and we lost," Laurie said of her team's performance on the weekend. "We thought we could win this game, and we did."

Eleven seconds after the timeout, disaster struck for the Saints, as Waigand completed her hat-trick, increasing the Sabre lead to two. Senior Sophie Schieldt added the icing on the cake with her first goal of the season, banking a clearing attempt off the side-boards and into the empty net.

"We told the girls in the locker room that this win puts Marian Hockey on the map," Assistant Coach Mike Pogorelec said. "Moving forward its going to give our girls confidence and help us continue to improve our program."

"I told the girls, you have to believe in each other," Head Coach Jamie Kivi said. "This program has what it takes...I couldn't ask for a better team right now."

The win is Marian's first in program history over a ranked opponent, and comes just two games after they battled then eighth-ranked UW-Superior to a 2-2 tie. Additionally, the victory is Marian's fourth on the season, which sets a new program record for wins.

Marian will continue their season next weekend on the road against Lake Forest. The Foresters currently sit in second place in NCHA standings.