SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 3 Gustavus women's hockey team scored three more goals on the power play in a 4-0 victory over St. Scholastica to open the MIAC series at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Thursday, Feb. 13.
The Gusties (18-4-0, 13-2-0 MIAC) extended their power play prowess, converting on 3-of-6 opportunities to extend their season total to 32 goals with the player advantage, a stat that leads all of college hockey, regardless of division or gender.
The Saints (4-18-0, 2-13-0 MIAC) held Gustavus scoreless through the first period, thanks large in part to the play of goaltender Makenzie Cole. Last time Cole took the ice for St. Scholastica in Saint Peter, she stifled the Gustie offense with a 45-save performance, and her first period performance was nothing short of the same, holding Gustavus scoreless through the first 20 with 16 saves to start the game.
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin, Minn.),
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.), and
Kaitlyn Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.) had the best Gustie look in the first frame, nearly recreating their tic-tac-toe power play goal from the game before, but Cole once more came up with an acrobatic save to keep the game deadlocked 0-0 at the first intermission.
Holland and Mortenson broke the silence just 0:38 into the second period, connecting for Holland's NCAA Division III-leading seventh power play tally of the season. The two leading point scorers for the Gusties played a give-and-go down low before Mortenson found Holland out front, who jabbed her 12th goal of the season past Cole on the 5-on-3 power play.
Mortenson collected her second point of the night six minutes later, once more on the power play, cleaning up shot opportunities from Holland and
Ellie Groebner (Fy., Apple Valley, Minn.) in front of the crease.
Eva Nelson (Fy., Buffalo, Minn.) netted the third power play tally of the game to give the Gusties a 3-0 lead at the end of the period, taking a feed from
Macy Janssen (So., Blaine, Minn.) and picking a corner over the shoulder of Cole from the blue line.
Grace Schuck (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.) put the final punctuation mark on the game in the third period, exchanging cycles with
Lindsay Berggren (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.), who then rifled a shot from the slot that left the rebound for Schuck, who backhanded it past Cole for the 4-0 final.
The Gusties held CSS to just eight total shots on goal in the game, with
Lily Timmons (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) and
Maya Marston (So., Dellwood, Minn.) splitting time in the crease for the shutout. Gustavus, meanwhile, totaled 16 or more shots on goal in each period, including 20 in the second, for a total of 52 on target, their highest mark of the year so far.
Mortenson and Holland once again led the Gusties' scoring efforts, each totaling a goal and an assist. Hemr led the squad with seven total shots, followed by six for Mortenson, and five each for
Emma Heyer (So., Shakopee, Minn.), Berggren, and Nelson. A total of 17 Gusties contributed to the season-high 52 shots on goal.
Gustavus and St. Scholastica wrap up the conference series Saturday, Feb. 15, for a 6 p.m. puck drop in Duluth.
