SAINT PETER, Minn. - The Gustavus men's hockey team is going dancing.
The Gusties claimed the MIAC playoff championship with a 2-1 victory over St. Olaf on Saturday evening at Don Roberts Ice Rink, capturing their sixth conference playoff title and first since 2012. Gustavus punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III tournament and will find out its first round opponent during the selection show at 9 a.m. Monday on NCAA.com. First round games begin next Saturday.
After Gustavus won the opening faceoff,
Hunter Newhouse collected a loose puck on the doorstep of the Ole net 15 seconds in and sent it into the back of the net, but the goal was waved off by the officials. The remainder of the period went scoreless with the Oles holding an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Eight minutes into the second period, St. Olaf broke the silence with a goal by Tyler Green. It didn't take long for the Gusties to respond, though, as
Riku Brown found the back of the net at the 11:51 mark, assisted by
Landon Johnson and
Kylar Fenton. The score remained tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.
Two minutes into the third frame, Brown worked his way through the Ole slot and netted his second goal of the game, assisted by
Drew Holt and Fenton. The Oles pulled their goalie in the minute of the game and had three shots on goal with the extra attacker, but
Colin Androlewicz stood his ground, finishing the game with 26 saves.
Both teams were scoreless on the power play with the Gusties going 0-for-1 and the Oles 0-for-2.
Gustavus is making its seventh appearance at the NCAA tournament and first since 2012. The Gusties' best NCAA run was in 2009 when they finished runner up.
