RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The Gustavus women's hockey team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday night, as the battle of the top two teams in NCAA Division III ended in favor of No. 2 UW-River Falls, 2-0. The Falcons scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period before adding an empty net tally in the final minutes of play. The Gusties now drop to 7-1-0 overall and River Falls remains undefeated, 10-0-0.
The Falcons peppered Gustie goaltender
Katie McCoy from the get-go, totaling 11 shots on the 5th year senior in the first period, including a pair of dangerous breakaway chances. The Gusties sent six on River Falls' Jordan O'Connor, but both netminders stood tall through the first 20 minutes of play to send the teams to the locker room deadlocked 0-0 after one.
The Falcons' Alex Hantge broke McCoy's shutout 10:55 into the second stanza, as the senior took a feed from Aubrey Nelvin at the top of the Gustie zone, breaking free from the Gustavus defenders to tap the puck in over the left pad of McCoy.
The Gusties mustered as many chances as they could in the third period, including four off the stick of
Sophia Coltvet, and a few that just barely missed the back of the Falcon net. Gustavus looked to even the score with the extra skater on the ice, but River Falls scored the empty net goal with 1:26 remaining in the third to seal the deal and hand the Gusties their first loss since January 31, 2023.
McCoy finished the night with a season-high 28 saves between the pipes. The Gusties put 29 of their own on goal, including a team-leading four from Coltvet, while
Hailey Holland,
Brooke Remington,
Brooke Power, and
Hannah Gray each added three.
The Gusties are back home this weekend, hosting Aurora for a pair of non-conference games at Don Roberts Ice Rink Friday and Saturday.
