Kayla Gardner skates at the Ralph Engesltad Arena on Saturday night against the Toronto Jr. Aeros. Photo by Jennifer Friese/The Dakota Student.

It may only have been an exhibition game, but the UND women’s hockey team found excitement when it defeated the Toronto Jr. Aeros 9-1 on Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

“The game was sloppy to begin with, but some of the concepts we’ve been talking with, and some of the things we’ve been working with, I thought we executed fairly well,” UND coach Brian Idalski said of the team’s efforts.

The game was an offensive explosion as Gracen Hirschy and Shannon Kaiser both scored two goals, and Leah Jensen tallied one and added three assists.

For a team that relied heavily on its offensive attack last year, this came as no surprise. The squad went 20-12-4 last year, scoring 96 goals.

The women return their two leading scorers from last year — Josefine Jakobsen and Meghan Dufault.

In her junior year, Jakobsen led the team with 33 points, 14 goals and 19 assists while posting seven multi-point games. She also led all forwards in plus/minus ratings with +18.

Her defensive play went noticed, leading the nation with 87 blocked shots. Jakobson was named to the All-WCHA third team.

Dufault skated in 31 games last year, scoring 28 points —12 goals and 16 assists. Dufault came up clutch, scoring four game-winning goals. Also known for her strong defensive effort on the penalty kill, she added three shorthanded goals last season, two in the same period against Bemidji State.

Idalksi was not afraid to try some new things against the Aeros. Hirschy, a sophomore that normally plays defense, was put on the left wing. She scored the first goal of the game with a feed from Marissa Salo, and added another 24 seconds later.

“Let’s just say that Gracen is a hybrid,” Idalski said. “We’re moving in a direction where we have some kids that are offensive, but are defensive at heart.”

Hirschy led the UND defense in points last year with 22 and collected a plus/minus of +19 — the seventh best in the NCAA.

One question mark this season is goaltending. Both goalies from last year are returning, but neither have solidified themselves as No. 1.

Shelby Amsley-Benzie lead her team to 14 wins and Lexie Shaw won six of her contests.

While the team is still discovering its fittings, Saturday night proved a good indication of a successful season.

Kyle Beauchamp is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].