SAINT PETER, Minn. - The Gustavus women's hockey team bounced back on Saturday and scored four goals in a win over St. Norbert. Four different players scored for the team while
Bre Koehler and
Faye Brunke scored their first goals in Black and Gold.
Gustavus scored two goals in the first period to take the lead after not finding the goal at all last night. First-year
Bre Koehler (Mound, Minn.) had the best opportunity of the game last night for the Gusties to score and redeemed herself today in the first, scoring her first collegiate goal and the first of the season for Gustavus overall. Koehler picked the puck up in the offensive zone and took a shot that was blocked, but luckily fell to the Mound native again. Koehler skated in to the right of the net and took a shot again, going past the glove of Keira Markell. It only took Gustavus 1:03 to double their lead, this time courtesy of sophomore
Makaela Reinke (Hayward, Wis.), who also scored against St. Norbert last season. Reinke picked up a puck on her own blue line and skated the length of the ice herself, beating her defender with pace and slotted the puck between the five-hole of Markell to double the Gustavus lead. The Gusties led in shots on goal, 15-10, after the first period but went 0-2 on the powerplay. Junior
Eva Nelson (Buffalo, Minn.) led the team with four shots on goal after the first 20 minutes.
Just five minutes into the period, senior
Kylie Scott (Dayton, Minn.) scored her first goal of the season on the powerplay. Nelson took a shot from the point that ran through four players but Markell did not have much time for a save, giving up a juicy rebound. Scott was able to capitalize and tuck it in as she fell, pushing the Gustavus lead to three just five seconds into the power play. Unfortunately for the Gusties, the lead would be diminished down to one by the end of the period. Two goals for St. Norbert was on par for the statistical comparison of the period, leading the Gusties 15-7 in shots on goal while junior goaltender
Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn.) still made 13 saves. Gustavus took three penalties in the second period, one of which St. Norbert was able to capitalize on.
Leading 3-2, the home team extended their lead with just over five minutes to go in the third period. First-year
Addy Benson (Superior, Wis.) was on the receiving end of a body check which set up a power play opportunity for Gustavus and they were able to capitalize on it, thanks to first-year
Faye Brunke (Pulaski, Wis.). Brunke's first goal in the Three Crowns came just 10 seconds into the power play, taking a shot from the point that got through a number of bodies and found the top left corner. The Green Knights would score on the power play with an empty net with 1:43 to go in the game, but Gustavus weathered the storm of a 5-on-6 situation to clinch the series split.
The name of the game on Saturday was special teams again, with both teams taking five penalties. The Gusties took advantage of their opportunity twice during the second of the series after going empty on Friday night. Nelson led the team with eight shots on goal and a +2 plus/minus rating while four different players scored in the win. Both Koehler and Brunke scored their first collegiate goal in the win while Benson and senior
Avery Braunshausen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) were both 11-for-19 in the dot. Defensively, junior
Ellie Groebner (Apple Valley, Minn.) had two blocked shots and Timmons made 26 saves, a season-high.
Gustavus women's hockey will return to action on Saturday, November 14th at 2:05 p.m., taking on No. 1 ranked UW-River Falls to renew their rivalry and go on the road for the first time this season.
