MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - In the second act of a nationally-ranked series, No. 10 Gustavus women's hockey scored twice in the second period but gave up two goals just over a minute apart in the third period to settle for a weekend split with No. 2 Augsburg, dropping the second game, 3-2.
The first period started with the Gusties on the front foot, with five shot attempts in the first three and a half minutes, forcing three early saves for Augsburg. The Auggies responded with three shots themselves in the next 30 seconds, all saved by sophomore goaltender
Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn.), coming off a win last night in goal. Gustavus held the shot advantage for the first half of the period, when the tide turned in favor of Augsburg. At the 17:57 mark of the first period, the Auggies scored even strength after a turnover in the neutral zone and a cross-crease pass to set up their opening goal. After the first period, Augsburg held a slight advantage in shots on goal, leading 14-13, but the Gusties also dominated in the faceoff dot, winning 20 of 25 faceoffs.
The Gusties were given a power-play opportunity early in the second period, but could not capitalize, taking two shots, both by
Lily Mortenson (Sr., Champlin, Minn.) and were saved by Augsburg. At the 3:19 mark of the period,
Makaela Reinke (Fy., Hayward, Wis.) was called for tripping, sending Augsburg on the powerplay, but it was no issue for Mortenson, who was sent on a breakaway after a pass by
Avery Braunshausen (Jr., Lake Elmo, Minn.), where Mortenson tucked it five-hole on the Augsburg goalie to tie the game at one. The Gusties continued their success on special teams, scoring at the 10:58 mark of the period as well, this time on the power play.
Noelle Hemr (So., Blaine, Minn.) found Mortenson on the left circle, a spot Mortenson has already scored from multiple times this season, drawing pressure, where the Champlin native found Hemr through the chaos in front of the net to calmly put the puck in the back of the net. The two goals in the period well represent the pace and pressure of a period where the Gusties held the shots on goal advantage, 15-6 and won 14 of 20 faceoffs.
After the intermission, Augsburg came out looking like a new team, firing off six shots in the first 3:35 of the period. This pressure would illustrate how the period would go, with Augsburg scoring twice, first at 9:04 when a pass to the front of the net found its way under Timmons' arm and once again just 1:24 later, this time on a give-and-go maneuver just past the outstretched blocker of Timmons. Gustavus tried to flip the script, firing six shots themselves in the last 3:52, including three with an empty net, but there was no such luck, earning Augsburg the ranked win, 3-2.
Gustavus led in shots on goal, 36-28, including seven for Mortenson, who contributed a goal and an assist. The Gusties also held the advantage, winning 39 of 61 (63.9%) of faceoffs and blocked 10 shots to Augsburg's eight. On special teams, the Gusties scored once on the power play, scored once shorthanded, and held Augsburg to zero percent execution on the power play. In net, Timmons stopped 25 of 28 shots faced.
The Gusties are back on the ice on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. when they host No. 8/9 Adrian (Mich.) for a weekend series.
