SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women's hockey team saw its season come to a close Saturday at Don Roberts Ice Rink, falling to St. Norbert (Wis.) by a score of 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Tournament. The Gusties scored early, but a goal in each period for the Green Knights and 45 saves by the SNC goalie were too much to overcome, ending the year 21-7-0 overall.
Lily Mortenson (Jr., Champlin, Minn.) put her team on the board early, scoring her 22nd goal of the season just 2:18 after the opening faceoff. After a St. Norbert icing, Mortenson won the offensive zone draw back to
Abby Elliott (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.), who dished a pass across to her defensive partner
Hannah Thompson (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.). Thompson went for the shot-pass with Mortenson in mind, finding the junior uncontested out front. Mortenson redirected the puck and tapped in her own rebound for an early 1-0 lead for the home team.
St. Norbert (25-4-1, 16-1-1 NCHA) tied things up about 10 minutes later, taking advantage of a power play to even the score at one apiece. A diving play from Courtnie Hogan kept the possession in favor of the Green Knights, who took advantage of a bounce off a Gustie player out front for their first of the game, tying the score at 1-1 at the end of the first period.
Gustavus (21-7-0, 16-5-0 MIAC) controlled much of the play in the second frame, but struggled to get anything past goaltender Keira Markell, missing key rebounds in front of the St. Norbert first-year netminder. Despite out-shooting St. Norbert 21-7 and 16-7 in shots on goal, it was SNC's Kelsey Ross who netted the eventual game-winner 14:22 into the period. After Mortenson rushed down the ice on her own offensive attempt, Ross came back the other way on the breakout, bouncing the puck around the Gustie defense off the boards, followed by a nifty move through the legs of the last remaining defender and a backhand shot over the shoulder of
Lily Timmons (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) to put the visitors up 2-1 in the second period.
St. Norbert scored one more in the final period, finding a loose puck in the slot that snuck by the pad of Timmons through traffic out front. The Gusties pulled the first-year goalie for the extra skater, but struggled to recreate any of their earlier comeback magic, falling to the Green Knights, 3-1.
The Gusties finished out-shooting St. Norbert by a mark of 46-13. The Gusties struggled on the power play, going 0-for-2, while the Green Knights converted on their only opportunity of the game. Mortenson led the Gusties with a goal on 11 shots, while
Eva Nelson (Fy., Buffalo, Minn.) tallied six on net and
Noelle Hemr (Fy., Blaine, Minn.) five. Timmons finished with 10 saves between the pipes, while her counterpart made 45.
St. Norbert will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals to face Augsburg, the top-seeded team in the tournament, next Saturday, March 22.
