SAINT PETER, Minn. - For the second game in a row, No. 8/11 women's hockey tied Saint Mary's, 1-1, losing the shootout this time. The highlight of the night was senior
Lily Mortenson (Champlin, Minn.) reaching the 100 point mark, just the 16th player in program history to do so.
In the first period, the Gusties had nine shots on goal, but did not find the back of the net. Senior
Lindsay Berggren (Shoreview, Minn.), junior
Hannah Thompson (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and sophomore
Eva Nelson (Buffalo, Minn.) led the offensive effort with two shots. In comparison to a game last night that only held one penalty in its entirety, there were three penalties in the first period, two for the Gusties and one for the Cardinals. The Cardinals capitalized on the second, deflecting a shot from the point past goaltender
Lily Timmons (So., Lake Elmo, Minn.) to take a one goal lead out of the first period.
The second period gave the Gusties one more chance on the power play, which has been operating at a 20.5 percent clip this season. Gustavus had three shots saved on the power play, one more blocked, and one miss wide, but in what would prove to be the final power play opportunity for the Gusties, they did not find the game-tying goal. The Gustavus defense held the Cardinals to only three shots on goal in the period while registering 13 themselves, getting up to a tally of 22 after two periods.
52 seconds into the third period marked history for two Gusties. First-year
Kayleigh Olson (Delano, Minn.) scored her first goal donning the Three Crowns, which was assisted by
Noelle Hemr (So., Blaine, Minn.) and Mortenson, breaking the 100 point threshold for the Gusties. The Champlin native is the 16th player in program history to reach 100 points and the fourth player on the 2023 National Championship winning team to do so. The Gusties killed two penalties after the tying goal and registered nine more shots on goal, but nothing broke for either team and the game was sent to overtime for the second night in a row.
In overtime, Saint Mary's sustained pressure, forcing six saves out of Timmons, whereas the Gusties registered three in the session. Neither team was able to break the tie and sent the game to a shootout. Shooting first in each Mortenson, Nelson,
Macy Janssen (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) and
Kylie Scott (Jr., Dayton, Minn.) all were saved, setting up a do-or-die situation for Timmons in rounds three and four. Timmons stood tall and made three saves, but the fourth one slipped past her right pad, giving each team three points on the weekend.
The Gusties host on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., this time starting a weekend series with St. Catherine.
