Mendota Heights, Minn. – For St. Thomas Women's Hockey Saturday's 5-2 conference win over the Bemidji State Beavers at the Saint Thomas Ice Arena was a game of "firsts". 
 
The win marked the Tommies' first Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) two-game sweep of not only the season, but in the program's short Division I history after downing the Beavers 3-1 the night prior. 
 
The Tommies winning both games on home ice was also a program first. 
 
Maggie Malecha had been called upon for just three periods in three different games this season for a 3.00 goals against average and 33 saves. The freshman tallied not just her first career start in goal on Saturday, but also her first collegiate win while stopping 28 Beaver shots for a .933 save percentage. 
 
Maggie was not the only freshmen with a milestone on the night. Kate Haug assisted on two goals in the game and added her first career goal in the third period. Her performance also marked the program's first three-point WCHA game. 
The Tommies started the scoring early in the first period when, just over two minutes into the game, Haug connected with Lauren Stenslie who scored her third goal of the season. 
 
Three minutes and thirty-three seconds later the Stenslie-Parent-Haug line struck again. Stenslie and Haug each set up Brieja Parent perfectly as she scored from within the slot to put the Tommies up 2-0. 
 
The Beavers would answer with one late in the opening period on the power play, the only power play goal scored by either team. 
 
Bemidji State outshot the Tommies 12-10 in the second period but could not get anything by freshman goalie, Maggie Malecha. 
 
St. Thomas took advantage of their best chance in the period when Anna Solheim blocked a Beaver shot from just within the blue line. The senior forward soaked up the rebound and streaked down the ice with the puck on her stick and her longtime teammate Maija Almich flanking down the other side of the 2-on-1 break. Solheim found Almich with enough time for Maija to put one over the goaltender's glove and into the back of the net for her team-leading seventh goal. 
 
The final 20 minutes opened with a flourish, just 53 seconds into the period, Luci Bianchi found herself wide-open in the slot with a chance at the goal. She took it and did not miss. Allie Monrean's hard work on the face-off dot gave Bianchi the chance and she was rewarded with her second assist of the season.
 
The Beavers would answer back with one more goal before Kate Haug scored an unassisted goal to send the Beavers back to Bemidji without a WCHA point from the weekend. 
 
Bemidji State outshot the Tommies 30-23 and outdrew St. Thomas 27-25. 
 
The Beavers were 1-1 on their only power play chance of the day while St. Thomas was 0-3 on power play opportunities, all in the second period.  
 
Up Next
 
St. Thomas Women's Hockey is off until the new-year in terms of on-ice action. They will not take back to the frozen pond until January 6^th and 7^th when they host RIT, a team they swept on the road last season 3-1 and 2-1.