SAINT PETER, Minn. – The fifth-ranked Gustavus women's hockey team completed the MIAC sweep of Bethel, defeating the Royals 4-1 at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Saturday, Feb. 1.
After a back-and-forth battle the night before, the Gustie offense put the game out of reach with a two-goal first period, followed by one more in each of the second and third frames for the conference win and the fifth game in a row with three or more Gustie goals.
Brooke Power (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) put the Gusties on the board 5:15 into the period for her ninth of the year, taking advantage of a misplay by Bethel goaltender Anna Hanson, making a diving play to beat the netminder for an early 1-0 lead.
The Gustie top line of
Kaitlyn Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.),
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.), and
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin, Minn.) combined for the second of the game just two minutes later, as Hemr fed Mortenson a pass on the blue line to bring the play in on the zone entry. Mortenson walked from right to left before sending a perfectly placed shot-pass to Holland out front, who tipped the puck in under the bar and behind Hanson for a 2-0 Gustie lead that held to the end of the period.
The Royals (9-9-1, 4-8-0 MIAC), as they did in the game before, responded to cut the lead to one in the next period, as a smooth breakout and nifty move by Trinity Jackson resulted in a bar-down tally to break Marston's shutout.
But
Abby Elliott (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) continued to be Hanson's biggest weakness, re-extending the lead three minutes later. Elliott scored her fifth in the last four games off a tipped
Kylie Ligday (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.) shot on the power play for a 3-1 advantage at the second intermission.
Hannah Thompson (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) added an insurance tally in the third period, as Hemr's efforts to keep the zone allowed Thompson to put a shot from outside the circle behind the elbow of Hanson for her third of the season and the 4-1 final.
The Gusties (15-4-0, 10-2-0 MIAC) out-shot Bethel 36-18, including a mark of 24-9 in shots on goal. The home team picked up another power play tally, going 1-for-5 on the player advantage, and won the battle in the circle with 30 faceoff wins to 19 for the Royals.
Of the Gusties' 24 shots on target, five came off the stick of Holland, while Mortenson, Elliott, and
Macy Janssen (So., Blaine, Minn.) each tallied three. Hemr and Power each collected two points to lead the offense, as Power added an assist on Elliott's tally, and Hemr collected two helpers to cap a four-point week for the first-year. Marston earned her first win of the season with eight saves between the pipes.
Gustavus returns home to host Saint Benedict (9-6-3, 6-4-1 MIAC) at 7 p.m. next Friday, Feb. 7, at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
