ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Hamline women's hockey team (17-3-4, 13-1-3 MIAC) continued their strong offensive play on Friday night, defeating St. Catherine 8-1 at TRIA Rink. It was the last regular season home game for the Pipers, who took the opportunity to honor their six senior players and two senior managers after the contest.
 
Since the new year, the Hamline offense has been on a roll, averaging just over five goals per game. The team, who leads the MIAC in goals per game, has 106 total goals on the season so far.
 
Senior Bre Simon and first years Sophie Rausch and Madison Davis all had big nights for HU, recording five points each. Rausch netted the first two goals for the Pipers and would add three assists while Davis recorded her first career hat trick, while also assisting two other goals. Simon assisted four goals and would get one of her own in the third period.
 
With the hat trick, Davis joins 17 other Hamline players who have recorded at least one hat trick in their career. She now ranks fifth on the team in points with 24 on the season.
 
In net, junior McKenna Hulslander earned the win, improving to 9-1-1 on the year. The defense kept the Wildcats at bay for the majority of the night, but Hulslander tallied eight saves, lowering her goals against average to 1.36.
 
Rausch would score seven minutes into the first period, diving to tip in a loose puck to give the Pipers an early lead. She added another tip-in goal eight minutes later, redirecting a shot from senior Dani Wright and finding the back of the net. 
 
 Davis got her first goal of the game in the second period, putting HU up by three at 5:36. The Wildcats would gain some momentum, scoring short-handed 14 minutes into the frame, but the Pipers scored less than three minutes later as Wright scored from long range being assisted by first year Taylor Stefan.
 
The third period belonged to Hamline, who would score four more times before the end. First year Elizabeth Valley got the scoring going with an unassisted goal at 2:08. Davis would score the next two and Simon rounded out the scoring at 9:55.
 
The Pipers will close out the regular season tomorrow, February 22, taking on St. Catherine on the road at 2:00 p.m. They will then look ahead to the MIAC playoff tournament that begins on February 27. If HU wins tomorrow, they will be at least the two seed which means they wouldn't play until February 29, getting to host a second-round game.