EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – After 60 scoreless minutes in Eau Claire, No. 10 Gustavus women's hockey got the winner, defeating UW-Eau Claire, 1-0.
Lily Mortenson (Sr., Champlin, Minn.) played hero, finding the top left corner to send the Gusties home for Thanksgiving with a win.
In the first period, both teams started strong but could not get anything substantial going. The Gusties had 17 shot attempts to the Blugolds' 10, but only eight of those forced saves to keep the score deadlocked. In the first frame, the Gusties also had two power-play attempts, where they found four shots and controlled pressure, but could not find the back of the net. The Blugolds fought defensively to thwart any offensive power from the Gusties, blocking five shots in the first period alone.
UW-Eau Claire managed to change the tide in the second period, taking an advantage over Gustavus in the middle frame. The Blugolds outshot the Gusties 12-6 on goal and had three power-play opportunities, but could not capitalize, thanks to six saves by
Lily Timmons (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.), including four saves in a 1:04 span on the Blugolds' second opportunity of the period to help keep the game tied at zero heading into the third period.
The third period was a clear sign that this game had no end in sight, with both teams very close in multiple categories. Both teams upped the discipline from the first two periods, with neither taking a penalty in the third frame. Also, the Gusties took 19 shot attempts compared to 15 for the Blugolds, but UW-Eau Claire held the lead in shots on goal, 8-7.
At the end of regulation, shots stood 26-21 in favor of UW-Eau Claire and the Gusties had 50 total shot attempts. While the Gusties were given four chances on the power play, a few unlucky bounces kept them off the scoreboard but the same remained true for the Blugolds, who blocked 11 total shots across the regulation.
The overtime session marked the third time the Gusties had been tied after regulation, looking to earn their second overtime win of the season. With 3:38 left in overtime, Ashley Wagenbach of the Blugolds found a loose puck at the blue line and uncorked a slap shot that Timmons saved with the blocker, but it fell to another Blugold, who seemed to have an opportunity in point-blank range, but Timmons once again rose to the challenge in her first start in just over three weeks to preserve the shutout and continue the overtime session. With just over 1:30 left, Mortenson picked up a feed from
Hannah Thompson (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) in the right corner, circled behind the net, came back to the center and picked her spot in the top left corner to seal the game for the Gusties.
Mortenson is no stranger to overtime winners either, scoring the goal to send the Gusties to the national championship game in 2022 in double overtime, beating Plattsburgh, 3-2. Timmons held the shutout for the Gusties with 30 saves across the contest, her first shutout since March 1st in a MIAC Playoff Semifinal matchup against Hamline.
Kylie Ligday (Jr., Lake Elmo, Minn.) led the Gusties with five shots on goal, followed by
Makaela Reinke (Fy., Hayward, Wis.) with three.
The Gusties are back after the holiday break, playing a home-and-home series against No. 2 Augsburg on December 5th and 6th.
