Celeste Rimstad stopped 71 of the 74 shots she faced — and missed out on her third straight shutout by 13 seconds in the Saint Mary’s women’s hockey team’s 2-1 win over No. 7 UW-Eau Claire.
And the effort did not go unnoticed, as the sophomore goalie was named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Rimstad stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced against the Blugolds, before kicking out a season- and career-high 42 shots in the 3-1 loss to the Falcons, who led the WIAC in scoring with 160 goals a year ago.
The Defensive Player of the Week honor marked the second time in as many weeks that a Cardinal player was recognized. Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.) was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30, after scoring four goals in SMU’s season-opening sweep of Lake Forest.
The Cardinals (3-1-0 overall) kick off MIAC play this weekend against Hamline, traveling to TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Pipers on Friday, before returning to the SMU Ice Arena for Saturday’s 2 p.m. rematch.
