SAINT PETER, Minn. - Sophomore
Eva Nelson (Buffalo, Minn.) provided a spark for the Gusties on Saturday with two goals and an assist, which, coupled with a sophomore
Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn.) shutout, lifted Gustavus to a 4-0 win over St. Scholastica on Saturday.Â
After a sour 5-3 loss on Thursday night in Duluth, the Gusties seemed determined to get rid of the bad taste in their mouth, firing off four shots in the first two minutes of game time. The Gusties went on the power play for the first time after just one shot and two shots reached the Saints goaltender during the power play, but those two shots would be the only shots on goal until over halfway through the period For St. Scholastica, their first shot on goal came 12 minutes into the contest, but the Gusties continued their pressure and got the first goal of the game two minutes later. Senior classmates
Lindsay Berggren (Shoreview, Minn.) and
Grace Schuck (Bloomington, Minn.) found sophomore
Kaitlin Roberts (Hugo, Minn.) for her third goal of the season. Gustavus would continue to press on, ending the period with eight shots on goal compared to the Saints' one, but only one shot found the goal, sending the teams into the dressing rooms with the score 1-0 in favor of the Gusties.Â
On their second and final power play opportunity of the afternoon, the Gusties struck, as Nelson scored unassisted to double the Gusties lead after a barrage of shots that led to the goal. Gustavus continued to apply offensive pressure, firing 16 shots on goal in the second period including four from Nelson, who also picked up another point in the period. With just over a minute remaining in the period, junior
Kylie Scott (Dayton, Minn.) scored another goal assisted by senior
Lily Mortenson (Champlin, Minn.) and Nelson to extend the lead to three after two periods.Â
The third period remained much more even, as shots on goal were only 9-8 in favor of the Gusties, whereas St. Scholastica was able to put eight in the path of Timmons, one more than the first and second period combined. The play in the period roughly matched the scoreline on shots on goal, as neither team was able to score even strength or on the power play. Nelson found her second goal and third point of the game though, scoring an empty net goal with 2:08 left on the clock to seal the MIAC series split.Â
Gustavus outshot the Saints 33-15, led by Nelson with six shots on goal and three points on the afternoon. The junior classmates
Kylie Ligday (Lake Elmo, Minn.) and
Macy Janssen (Blaine, Minn.) each followed closely behind Nelson with five shots on goal apiece, both with two in the first period and three in the second. The Gusties were well disciplined, not taking a penalty on the day, scoring on one of two special teams situations, and winning 32-of-59 (54 percent) of faceoffs.Â
Next weekend marks the final weekend series of the regular season, as the Gusties (12-9-2, 9-5-2 MIAC) take on No. 3/7 Hamline (19-3-1, 13-2-1 MIAC).Â
Â