SAINT PETER, Minn. – Despite an early 2-0 lead for St. Catherine, six unanswered goals, including a third period natural hat trick for
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin), helped No. 5 women's hockey complete the MIAC sweep, 6-2, on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Mortenson scored the first hatty of her career with three consecutive goals over a span of 15:42 in the third period, and assisted the final goal of the game to finish the weekend with seven points.
St. Catherine got on the board early, putting one past
Lily Timmons (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) just 3:13 into the period.
Gianna Gasparini (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) sped down the ice on a rush for the Gusties and dished a pass to
Brooke Power (5th, Lakeville, Minn.) on the zone entry, but Power couldn't beat the SCU defender, who sent a pass the other way to catch the Gusties in transition for a 2-on-1. A swift pass across the ice and subsequent shot beat a sliding Timmons in the lower right corner for an early 1-0 lead for the visitors.
The St. Catherine penalty kill (3-for-3) and a 17-save performance from goaltender Addie Oettinger held the SCU lead at the first intermission, with only three total shots on Timmons in the first 20 minutes.
The Wildcats scored their second of the game 6:12 after the break, surprising Timmons with a quick shot off the faceoff that trickled through her legs and was tapped in by a diving Paige Loidolt to take a 2-0 lead over the home team.
Abby Elliott (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) shifted the tempo three minutes later, scoring an unassisted tally for her fourth of the season to get the Gusties on the board. After a few failed attempts to center the puck in the slot, a missed pass bounced off a St. Catherine defender to Elliott at the point. The senior sent a shot through traffic to sneak one behind Oettinger on the left post.
With a bit of momentum and a 5-on-3 opportunity, the Gusties evened the score four minutes later on a nearly identical play.
Kylie Ligday (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.) finally broke the SCU penalty kill, which had successfully defended four penalties in the game to tie things up at two apiece. A pair of quick passes between Ligday and Power gave the sophomore a clean shot lane at the point, beating Oettinger on the left post again for a 2-2 score heading into the final period.
Mortenson scored the eventual game-winner 47 seconds into the third period, as a diving play from
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.) put the puck on the stick of
Ellie Groebner (Fy., Apple Valley, Minn.) at the point. Grobener ripped a shot from the blue line that Mortenson tipped past Oettinger for the first Gustie lead of the game.
Just under five minutes later, Hemr once again assisted her linemate, dishing the puck behind her back and out of the corner to a wide open Mortenson, who walked the bottom of the circle and sent the puck through the five-hole. She completed the hat trick 16:29 into the period, this time unassisted, powering past the SCU defense at the blue line and collecting her own rebound for her first career hat trick and the first Gustie hat trick of the year.
Hemr capped off a three-point performance with the final goal of the game, scoring on the power play on a cross-ice feed from Mortenson that turned into a rebound on a wide-open net for the first-year's eighth of the season and second of the series.
The Gusties out-shot St. Catherine 42-10 overall and went 2-for-9 on the power play. Faceoffs belonged convincingly to the home team on Saturday, with the Gusties winning 55-of-74 draws (74.3 percent).
Mortenson totaled 10 shots on goal in her four-point game, followed by five for Power and three for four other Gusties. A total of 11 Gusties contributed to the weekend's scoring, led by Mortenson's seven points and Hemr's four. Timmons made four saves and
Claire Bronson (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) added four in the third period to pick up the Gustie victory between the pipes.
Gustavus wraps up its non-conference slate at No. 2 UW-River Falls (15-2-2, 7-0-1 WIAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 28, heading to Hunt Arena for the final regular season match-up between the two regional rivals. River Falls won the season's first game, 5-3, on Nov. 12, while the Gusties claimed a 7-2 win over the Falcons on Dec. 10.
