ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 5 Gustavus women's hockey used a balanced offense to cruise past St. Catherine for a 5-0 win at Drake Arena on Friday, Jan. 24.
After being shut out by Saint Mary's the game before, the Gusties (11-4-0, 7-2-0 MIAC) responded with five goals from five different players in the first game of the home-and-home series, scoring one in the first and two in both the second and third periods.
Brooke Power (5th, Lakeville, Minn.) got the Gusties on the board early, scoring 7:36 into the period thanks to a perfect feed from linemate
Gianna Gasparini (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.). Following a neutral zone faceoff after a Gustie offsides, Gasparini walked into the zone and dished a pass to Power, who scored her eighth of the season on a wide open net after delaying on her zone entry to separate herself from the SCU defense.
The Gusties totaled a number of other offensive opportunities in the first 20 minutes, compiling a few odd-player rushes down the ice and nearly repeating Power's goal on a
Kaitlyn Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.) attempt. St. Catherine (4-11-1, 2-7-0 MIAC) had one dangerous look at
Lily Timmons (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) on a breakaway, but the shot tipped off the first-year's blocker to hold the 1-0 lead after the first period.
Holland put away her next power play attempt to open the second period scoring, cleaning up an
Abby Elliott (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) rebound for her eighth of the year and fifth with the player advantage 5:43 after the first intermission.
The Gusties extended the lead with 3:45 to play in the second, as a textbook zone entry and subsequent pass from
Lindsay Berggren (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.) on the half wall helped
Grace Schuck (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.) beat St. Catherine goaltender Lea Grassia sliding across the crease for a 3-0 Gustavus advantage heading into the third period.
Holland wasn't done producing for the Gusties after the second, as the senior set up
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.) for her seventh of the season, rifling a shot off the left pad of Grassia that resulted in a rebound for Hemr in front of the crease, extending the lead to 4-0 halfway through the third.
Just three minutes later,
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin, Minn.) put the punctuation mark on the game with a breakaway goal for her team-leading ninth of the season. Mortenson, who had 11 shots through the first two periods, finally found the back of the net in the third, breaking free down the ice for a quick move before sliding the puck through the five-hole of Grassia for a 5-0 Gustie final.
Gustavus out-shot St. Catherine by a mark of 48-23, with 27 shots on goal to just 14 for the Wildcats. The Gusties went 1-for-3 on the power play, and shut out SCU's only chance with the player advantage. For just the second time all season, the Gusties were bested in the faceoff circle, as St. Catherine won 32 of 54 draws (59.3 percent).
Both Holland and Mortenson totaled three points on a goal and a pair of assists, while Mortenson also chipped in a team- and game-leading 12 shots and nine on goal. A total of 10 different players had at least a point in the game, while 14 recorded a shot attempt. Timmons collected her fifth shutout of the season and third solo with a 14-save performance.
The two teams wrap up the MIAC series Saturday at 2 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
