Sophomore goaltender Alise Riedel stopped 27 of 28 shots to continue the women’s hockey team’s six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory against Bethel Saturday night at home.

Riedel has given up just nine goals in the team’s last 11 games, and she has a 94 percent season save percentage.

“Our team has really been working on our defensive zone so it’s really a team effort, allowing me to save a lot more pucks,” Riedel said. “It’s really just a big team effort, everything that we’re doing right now.”

The team effort seems to be working for the Tommies.The team has its longest winning streak of the year and has gone from ninth to second place in the conference since December.

Coach Tom Palkowski said his team’s recent success is because of “hard work, plain and simple.”

“We sat and decided we were going to dedicate ourselves on and off the ice,” Palkowski said. “The kids are working their tails off, not just in practice but also in the games now.”

The dedication paid off Saturday night when three different Tommies scored goals.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Barnier helped boost the Tommies by scoring their first goal of the night and also tallied an assist on sophomore forward Maria Bothwell’s goal.

“My linemate, Christina Rozeske, went hard to the puck, creating a two on one,” Barnier said. “She passed it over to me, I got the shot, the rebound went out front…I just hit it home.”

Sophomore Jenny Saxon scored the other goal for St. Thomas.

With playoffs approaching, the team is looking to stay focused and continue its winning streak.

“Everything we are doing seems to be working right now,” Riedel said. “We are just going to keep doing what we are doing, and hopefully it will pay off in the end.”

The Tommies are back in action against St. Catherine Friday, Feb. 10, at home.

Jake Swansson can be reached at swan7230@stthomas.edu.