Lindsey Hjelm's goal at 7:55 of the third period gave the Gustavus women's hockey team a 2-1 lead, but UW-River Falls countered with two goals in the next 45 seconds to take a 3-2 and then added an empty net goal in the final minute to defeat the Gusties 4-2 in River Falls, Wis.
After a scoreless first period, Gustavus took a 1-0 lead on a goal by
Allie Schwab at the 1:43 mark of the second period.
Mollie Carroll picked up the assist. Later in the period, UW-River Falls tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Alyssa Black at the 14:37 mark. The teams entered the locker rooms after two periods of play tied at 1-1.
The Gusties edged back into the lead at the 7:55 mark of the third period on Hjelm's goal with assists from
Jess Harren and
Melissa Doyle. The lead was short-lived, however as the Falcons tied the score at 2-2 just 10 seconds later (8:05) on a goal by Katie Flanagan and then UW-River Falls took a 3-2 lead 35 seconds after that (8:40) when Lauren Conrad scored.
UW-River Falls closed out the scoring with an empty net goal by Brook Story with 12 seconds left in the game.
The Falcons held a 40-27 edge in shots.
Danielle Justice, who suffered the loss in goal for Gustavus, recorded 36 saves. Cassi Campbell made 25 saves for UW-River Falls.
Gustavus will now break for finals and the Christmas holiday. The Gusties will return to action on January 11 at home against UW-Superior.
