SAINT PETER, Minn. - No. 2 Gustavus women's hockey scored in the first minute of Friday night's game against St. Catherine and held on for a close 2-1 victory at Don Roberts Ice Rink, improving to 13-3-0 overall and 10-1-0 in the MIAC.
The Gusties won the opening face off and took the puck into the Wildcat zone where
Lily Mortenson found
Hailey Holland 37 seconds into the frame for the early lead. Holland tallied her team-leading 13th goal of the season while Mortenson picked up her eighth assist, which is tied for the team lead.
After an evenly-played first period that saw the Wildcats outshoot the Gusties 7-5,
Margot Bettman gave the Gusties a 2-0 lead at the 11:04 mark of the second, taking advantage of a rebounded shot directly in front of the net for her first goal of the season. The Gusties appeared to be headed to the second intermission with a two-goal lead until the Wildcats took advantage of a breakaway in the final 34 seconds to end the shutout.
Both teams had scoring opportunities in the third but the score remained 2-1 for a final. The Gusties outshot the Wildcats 32-15 as
Katie McCoy made 14 saves.
Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. Saturday in Saint Paul.
