STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Gustavus men's hockey team opened its season Friday night with a 2-2 tie at No. 12 UW-Stevens Point.
The Gusties took the game's first lead with 4:42 left in the first period as
Kyle Heffron (So., Rosemount) found
Nate Stone (Fy., Edina) for Stone's first collegiate goal. The score remained 1-0 Gusties after the opening 20 minutes.
Gustavus gained a 2-0 advantage at the 7:39 mark of the second as
Mason Hendrickson (Fy., Deephaven) tallied his first collegiate goal with the help of
Stanislav Danaev (Jr., Moscow, Russia). UW-Stevens Point played a majority of the game in the Gustavus end and the pressure finally paid off at the 15:36 mark of the second as the Pointers cut the lead in half. The Gusties maintained a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.
The Pointers tallied the equalizer at the 12:45 mark of the third and despite a late penalty, the Gusties were able to fend off a late surge by the Pointers and sent the game to overtime. Neither team scored in the extra period and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
UW-Stevens Point outshot the Gusties 47-14 as
Jackson Hjelle (Jr., Delano) made a career-high 45 saves in goal. Gustavus went 0-for-2 on the power play and held the Pointers scoreless in four penalty kills, including a crucial kill to end the third period and start the overtime.
Gustavus continues its non-conference Wisconsin road trip with a 7 p.m. game Saturday at UW-Eau Claire.
