SAINT PETER, Minn. – It's a storied rivalry between the Gustavus women's hockey team and the Falcons of UW-River Falls. And Tuesday's game did not disappoint.
The winners of the last two national championships squared off for the second time this season at Don Roberts Ice Rink, giving fans in Saint Peter a nine-goal thriller featuring a seven-goal second period. The No. 5 Gusties (6-3-0, 5-1-0 MIAC), who fell victim to five unanswered goals in the last match-up between the West Region powerhouses, dealt No. 2 River Falls (7-2-2, 2-0-1 WIAC) a similar fate, scoring the opening three goals, before rattling off four more to seal the team's first win over the Falcons since March 11, 2023.
Both teams, coming off nationally-ranked setbacks – including a 3-1 UWRF loss that snapped a historical 40-game unbeaten streak – took the ice with something to prove Tuesday night. The Gusties, following their first conference loss on home ice in four years, bounced back in a big way, while River Falls lost its second consecutive for the first time since November of 2019. Seven goals from seven players and a career-high 33 saves from
Lily Timmons (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) backstopped the Gusties to victory, snapping a five-game losing streak against their foes from across the border.
Macy Janssen (So., Blaine, Minn.) started the scoring in the first period, taking a perfect feed from
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin, Minn.) in the middle of the ice. Janssen collected the puck in the slot and rifled her first of the season over the shoulder of Jordan O'Kane. Her goal stood for a 1-0 lead for the Gusties heading into the first intermission.
Four minutes into the second period,
Kylie Scott (So., Dayton, Minn.) collected the puck for the Gusties at the blue line and sent a shot towards O'Kane from the point. The initial shot, while it went wide, bounced off the back board for a wide-open
Kaitlyn Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.), who tapped home the rebound to double the lead early in the second. Scott also helped quarterback the game-winner, as a Falcon penalty brought up a dangerous Gustie power play. Scott, at the blue line, sent a pass to
Lindsay Berggren (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.) on the flank, who found a cross-ice pass through the seam to
Brooke Power (5th, Lakeville, Minn.) who slammed home a traditional one-timer for the third of the game.
The Gusties learned an important lesson early in the season – never to count UW-River Falls out of the game. The Falcons scored a pair of quick goals three minutes after Power's tally, putting Gustavus back on its heels midway through the second period. Determined to prevent déjà vu, Timmons posted 14 second period saves to limit UWRF's offense, allowing
Eva Nelson (Fy., Buffalo, Minn.) to extend the lead four minutes after the Falcons' second tally.
After an impressive full-ice effort from
Hannah Gray (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) on the power play, Nelson collected a pass from the senior captain in the slot and picked the top corner over O'Kane to squash any Falcon momentum. Just 41 seconds later, Gray netted one of her own, owning a lucky bounce off a River Falls defender that ended up in the back of the net. And, just 23 seconds after that, Berggren picked up a pass from Power through the middle of the ice and walked the Falcon defense and O'Kane for a highlight-reel goal and a 6-2 advantage heading into the final frame.
With a new goaltender in net, the Gusties wanted to ensure that their offense was still showcased in the third period, as
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.) got on the scoresheet, taking a perfect 2-on-1 pass from Mortenson to bury the seventh of the game. Despite being out-shot 12-3 in the final period, Timmons continued to come in clutch, helping her team shutdown every attempt from the top offense in NCAA Division III to earn the victory.
Gustavus was out-shot by River Falls 35-24, including a mark of 28-12 in the final two periods. The Gusties went 2-for-3 on the power play, and limited UWRF to just one goal with the player advantage on three attempts. The Gusties blocked 24 shots in the game, led by Mortenson with four, while the Falcons blocked just 10 in front of their two goaltenders.
The win was the second for the Gusties in the two teams' last eight match-ups, snapping a five-game skid to UWRF. Tuesday's victory was the first time since a 9-1 win on Nov. 6, 1999 that the Gusties have totaled seven goals or more on the Falcons, and the first time since last season's 7-1 win over Bethel that the team has lit the lamp seven times in a game. The five-goal second period was the first since a 6-0 win over Augsburg on Feb. 4, 2022.
Six different Gusties had a multi-point game, led by the three-assist performance of Mortenson. Power, Berggren, Hemr, and Gray each collected a goal and an assist, while Scott posted a pair of helpers. Mortenson led the team with four shots, followed by three each for Hemr, Holland, and Gray.
The Gusties are back in action for their final series before the holiday break, making the trip to Aurora for a pair of
12 p.m. non-conference games in Geneva, Ill. Friday and Saturday.
