SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men's hockey team got back to winning ways on Friday night, defeating Concordia-Moorhead, 4-3, for the first win of the season. Four different Gusties scored and seven different Gusties found the scoresheet in one way or another.
In the first period, the Cobbers struck first, scoring at the 10:15 mark, after a screened shot from the point squeezed just under the glove of
Marko Belak (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) to give Concordia the lead. Just a minute and 15 seconds later,
Ludvig Mellgren (Fy., Stockholm, Sweden) took matters into his own hands, going red line to red line, splitting two defenders, and finding the top netting to tie the game at one. After the first, the Cobbers held the shot advantage, 10-9.
The second period started hot for the Gusties, who lit the lamp just 2:04 into the period. This time, it was
Nick Blood, (So., Minnetrista, Minn.), off of a beautiful feed between Cobber defenseman by
Jack Wineman (So., Birmingham, Mich.) and Mellgren. The lead was extinguished four minutes later when Concordia scored on the power-play after a nifty move around Belak. Belak made up for it, though, just 30 seconds later, with a beautiful kick save on a breakaway to keep the game deadlocked at two. At the 14:36 mark, the Cobbers took a penalty for holding, and while the Gusties did not score on the power play, they scored just four seconds later, while the Cobbers were still transitioning to full strength.
Wilmer Svensson (Sr., Stockholm, Sweden) scored his team-leading third goal of the year off the hands of
Drew Holt (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), who wrapped around the net from right to left and fed the puck across the crease to Svensson, who tapped it in.
The Gusties opened the third in a similar fashion to the second period, scoring just 1:32 into the period.
Sam Rice was the goal scorer, finding the back of the net for the first time donning the Three Crowns, courtesy of
Kyle Doll (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.) for his second assist of the night to stretch the score to 4-2. The Cobbers closed the margin at the 12:14 mark, adding more drama to the last eight minutes of the game. Concordia pulled their goalie, but Belak made an outstretched save on a back side pass to clinch the first win of the season for the Gusties.
Gustavus fired 39 shots on goal, including 17 in the second period, which paid dividends, resulting in two goals. Rice's goal in the third period proved to be the game-winner and he added a 9-for-11 faceoff clip, only losing two on the night. Gustavus won 35 of 64 faceoffs on the night, where Rice and Svensson (8-for-10) dominated the dot.
The second game between Gustavus and Concordia is slated for tomorrow night at Don Roberts Ice Rink with a 5:00 p.m. puck drop.
