MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Gustavus women's hockey team upset No. 2 Augsburg, 1-0 in overtime on Saturday night to reach the MIAC Playoff Championship game with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Sophomore goaltender
Lily Timmons (Lake Elmo, Minn.) led the Gusties with a 32-save shutout and junior captain
Kylie Scott (Dayton, Minn.) found the winner for her team-leading fifth game-winning goal.
In the first period, the Gusties found their footing with three shots on goal in 25 seconds after the Auggies provided pressure to start the game. Augsburg took a penalty at 5:01 of the first period for roughing to set up the first power play opportunity of the game. Coming into the contest, the Gusties held an 18.8 percent success rate on the player advantage, but could not come up with a goal this time of asking, though two shots reached the net.
Senior captain
Lily Mortenson (Champlin, Minn.) took a penalty a bit later in the period and called upon the Gustie penalty kill, facing an Augsburg team who has operated effectively 19.5 percent of the time this season. The Auggies found Timmons six times on the power play, but Timmons was up to the task, making all six saves. Each team would take one more penalty in the period, but the two opportunities provided two total shots. Augsburg led in shots on goal, 14-9, and won 10 of 18 faceoffs, but could not use the slight advantages to manufacture a goal.
In the second period, sophomore
Eva Nelson (Buffalo, Minn.) took a penalty 46 seconds into the period, but the Auggies didn't get a shot to Timmons, partially thanks to a blocked shot by junior
Hannah Thompson (Lino Lakes, Minn.). Gustavus turned the tide on the number two team in the country in the middle portion of the period, not allowing a single shot to reach Timmons for 5:37 of game time. There were only nine total shots on goal in the second period, only three of which were by Gustavus. The period was played fairly free, with only nine faceoffs being taken in the frame.
There were no penalties in the third period as each team tightened up, knowing the potential ramifications of taking one. Timmons once again played hero, making three saves in 37 seconds and taking in six shots before the Gusties had one reach the Augsburg netminder Marissa Paaske, who used four blocks from her teammates to stay clean. Sophomore
Noelle Hemr (Blaine, Minn.) had the best chance of the period in the closing moments, sending a shot on a breakaway with pressure behind her, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime session, set for unlimited 20-minute sessions until finding a winner, the Gusties looked like they might find that pot of gold, taking four shots to start and gain some momentum on visiting ice. Junior defender
Kylie Ligday (Lake Elmo, Minn.) took a body check in the open ice to draw a penalty and send Gustavus onto the power play, their most important of the season. When it was all said and done, Ligday earned her team an opportunity that would prove lethal, as the Gusties would go on to score on the player advantage. The goal came at the 14:51 mark, when a familiar group of three found the game-winner. Nelson collected the puck on the blue line and passed it over to Mortenson on the left side of the zone, who then walked in, scanning for a shot. While no shot came, a streaking Scott dashed towards the right post on the goal, where Mortenson slipped in a pass. Scott made no mistake and scored her fifth game-winning goal of the season, sending the Gusties back to the MIAC Championship game for the sixth time in a row.
Gustavus was outshot 32-24, but Timmons proved to be the difference, stopping every shot. After going 0-for-2 on the power play in the first period, the Gusties regrouped and used the player advantage to find their most important goal of the season, the one that advances them to the MIAC Playoff Championship game, where the winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Each team blocked 15 shots, led by Hemr with three. Mortenson was dominant in the faceoff dot, winning 17 of 22 and being accountable for over half the 33 total faceoff wins today.
After Saint Benedict (15-7-4, 9-6-3 MIAC) defeated No. 5/7 Hamline (20-5-1, 14-3-1 MIAC), 4-2 in the other MIAC Playoff Semifinal matchup, that sends the Gusties (15-10-2, 10-6-2 MIAC) to Saint Benedict next Saturday, March 7th. The time is still set as to be determined, but more details will be announced as they become available.
