Melissa Mackley

Four members of the Gustavus women’s hockey team were named to the 2010 All-Conference Team by the league coaches this past week.  First year Lindsey Hjelm (North Oaks, Minn.), senior Melissa Mackley (Burnsville, Minn.), junior Kirstin Peterson (St. Paul, Minn.), and sophomore Allie Schwab (Stillwater, Minn.) were bestowed All-Conference Team honors.  It is the second time Melissa Mackely has been honored as All-MIAC, as Kirstin Peterson is a three-time honoree.  Allie Schwab was named to the All-Rookie team last season.

In addition, Lindsey Hjelm and first year defensemen Kelsey Kennedy were named to the 2010 All-Rookie Team.  Kennedy and Sara Yunger were named Honorable Mention All-Conference, while Alyssa Saunders made the 2009-10 Women’s Hockey All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.

Lindsey Hjelm, the Gustavus January Student-Athlete of the Month, has scored 11 goals and 13 assists for a total of 24 points this season.  Hjelm was the top scoring first year player on the team, as she finished the season ranked second in the MIAC in freshman scoring with 10 goals and nine assists for a 19 points.  Hjelm ranks seventh in the conference in point scoring (19), fifth in goal scoring (10), and ninth in assists (9).

Lindsey Hjelm

Captain Melissa Mackley, a staple of the Gustavus top lines over her four-year career, finished the MIAC season with nine goals and 11 assists for a total of 20 points.  She ranks second on the team and fifth in the MIAC in point scoring.  Mackley ranks third in the MIAC in power play points, with three goals and four assists for seven points.  Melissa ranks seventh in the MIAC in goals (9) and fifth in assists (6).  Mackley was also named women’s hockey MIAC Co-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 15.

Gustavus’s first line defensemen Kirstin Peterson has played a key defensive role in the current 12-game Gustavus win streak, in which the Gusties have allowed an average of just 1.08 goals per game.  Peterson finished fourth on the team in scoring, leading all defensemen, with three goals and 13 assists for a total of 16 points.  She finished the MIAC season as the top ranked player in the category of defensemen scoring (16 pts).  Peterson, the most recent recipient of women’s hockey MIAC Athlete of the Week award, ranked first in the MIAC in power play points (1G, 8A, 9Pts), third in the conference in assists (13), and 10th in points (16).

Allie Schwab is currently the leading scorer on the Gustavus women’s hockey team, finishing the MIAC season with 12 goals and 10 assists for a total of 22 points.  Schwab ranked third in the MIAC in points scoring (22), tied for first in goal scoring (12), and seventh in assists (10).   Schwab has three power play goals and three game-winning goals on the season.  Allie was named MIAC women’s hockey Athlete of the Week after the opening week of play on Nov. 23, 2009.  Schwab has registered nine goals in Gustavus’s current 12-game winning streak.

Kirstin Peterson

Allie Schwab

Hjelm and Kelsey Kennedy were two of the seven members named to the All-Rookie Team.  Second line defender Kennedy had two goals and six assists for a total of eight points in conference this season.  She currently has a +/- of +9 this season.  Kennedy and Sara Yunger were both named Honorable Mention All-Conference.  Yunger, an All-MIAC performer last season, had two goals and nine assists for 11 points in the MIAC this season.   She ranks second on the team in defensemen scoring and currently has a team-best +/- of +29.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the fourth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women’s hockey. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. Gustavus’ representative on the Sportsmanship Team is senior Alyssa Saunders.

MIAC Release

Lindsey Hjelm skates into the St. Olaf zone looking for the puck.

The Gustavus women’s hockey team turned in a dominating performance against St. Olaf on Thursday night and advanced to the MIAC Playoff Championship game with a 5-0 win over St. Olaf at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter.  The Gusties, who will be playing in the MIAC Playoff title game for the eleventh consecutive year, will host #2 seed St. Catherine on Saturday at 2:00 pm. The Wildcats advanced with a 4-3 win over St. Thomas.

The Gusties got off to a slow start as St. Olaf controlled the first ten minutes of play, but at the 12:07 mark of the first period, Allie Schwab pounced on a rebound right in front of the net and batted the puck past St. Olaf goaltender Jessica Ptachik to take a 1-0 lead.  The goal jump-started the Gusties, who out-shot the Oles 7-1 the rest of the period and went into the lockerroom with a 1-0 advantage at the first intermission.

Goaltender Danielle Justice focuses intently on the faceoff in the Gustie zone.

Gustavus broke the game open in the second period with three goals including two even strength goals and one with an extra skater on a delayed penalty.  Senior captain Melissa Mackley started the scoring barrage with a goal just 38 seconds into the second frame.  Three minutes later, first year forward Meagan Wanecke increased the lead to 2-0 with a goal at the 3:03 mark.  Midway through the period, the Gusties pulled goaltender Danielle Justice on a delayed penalty and scored with the extra skater as junior defender Kirstin Peterson found the net with a blast from the top of the right circle at the 12:53 mark.

Peterson closed out the scoring with her second goal of the game on another blast from the top of the right circle at 4:35 of the third period.  Peterson finished the night with three points including the two goals and an assist on Allie Schwab’s goal in the first period.

Gustavus posted its fourth consecutive shutout and increased its shutout streak to 241 minutes and 49 seconds dating back to a 3-2 win over Saint Mary’s on Feb. 19.  Gustie goaltender Daniell Justice registered 24 saves and picked up her fourth shutout of the season.

Sara Kate Pierro looks for a pass from a teammate in the St. Olaf zone.

The Gusties top line of Melissa Mackley, Allie Schwab, and Meagan Wanecke had a big game as each player recorded one goal and picked up one assist for six total points.  The top defensive pairing of Kirstin Peterson and Sarah Yungner also had a productive night at Peterson scored two goals and added one assist, while Yungner contributed one assist for four points.

The top-seeded Gusties will now face #2 seeded St. Catherine on Saturday afternoon.  The two teams split their regular season meeting with St. Kate’s winning 2-1 in St. Peter and Gustavus winning 3-1 in St. Paul.  The Wildcats will be playing in the MIAC Playoff Championship game for the first time in the program’s history.  St. Kate’s will be the first team other than Gustavus or St. Thomas to play in the playoff championship game since 2002 when Saint Mary’s won the playoff title with a 2-1 win over the Gusties.

You will be able to watch the game live through the Gustavus website.

Box Score

MIAC Playoff Website

Photo Gallery

Melissa Mackley

Gustavus senior forward Melissa Mackley has been named Women’s Hockey Co-Athlete of the Week by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Mackley, a Burnsville, Minn. native, scored three goals and registered four assists for seven points to help the Gusties post a 3-0 record last week including a 4-3 win over UW-Stevens Point and 5-1 and 3-1 wins over Hamline. The weekend sweep of the Pipers helped the Gusties move into a first place tie with St. Thomas and St. Kate’s in the MIAC standings. In the series against Hamline, Mackley registered two goals and two assists in Friday’s 5-1 win in St. Paul and then she added one goal and one assist in Saturday’s 3-1 win in St. Peter. Trailing 1-0 on Friday, Mackley scored two goals in the second period (her second was the gamewinner) and then assisted on the third and fourth goals in the third period. On Saturday, Mackley scored in the first period to give Gustavus a 1-0 and then she was credited with the assist on the gamewinner in the second period.

With her seven points on the week, Mackley moved into ninth place on the career scoring list at Gustavus with 30 goals and 65 assists for 95 points.

Gustavus, which is currently rated #9 in the USCHO.com Division III poll, will face Saint Mary’s in an important MIAC series this Friday and Saturday. The Gusties are currently 15-4-1 overall and 10-3-1 MIAC play.

The Gusties celebrate after one of their three goals against the Pipers.

In a tightly contested game that remained tied through well into the third period, Gustavus scored twice late in the third period to defeat Hamline by a score of 3-1 Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. Melissa Mackley came up big for the Gusties once again, scoring the game’s first goal in the second period and later assisting on the team’s final goal late in the third period. The Gusties improved to 15-4-2 overall and 10-3-1 in the MIAC, while extending their win streak to six games.

Hamline mustered only one shot on the Gustavus net the entire first period, but Piper goaltender Amanda Plumm kept the Gusties off the board by turning away each of their 18 first period shots. The game was tied 0-0 after one period of play despite a nearly constant Gustie presence in the Piper zone.

Melissa Mackley scored one goal and recorded one assist in Saturday's victory.

The scoring opened up in the second period with the game’s first goal coming off the stick of Mackley from Kirstin Peterson at the 5:30 mark. The goal continued a hot streak for Mackley, who compiled three goals and as many assists in the weekend series against Hamline. The Pipers tied the score at 1-1 late in the first period with Seanna Robinson’s shot finding the back of the net at the 19:44 mark.

Despite out-shooting the Pipers by a margin of 34-3 through two periods of play, the Gusties remained tied at one goal apiece heading into the third period. Plumm kept Hamline in the game for the first two periods, but costly penalties in the third period caught up to the Pipers. After compiling only two penalties over the first two periods, the Pipers were called for five penalties in the final 2- minutes, which ended with the Gusties scoring two goals within 31 seconds late in the game to put the game out of reach for Hamline.

Kirsten Peterson lines up a slap-shot from the top of the circle.

With the Gusties already on the power play, the Pipers Ashley Maskel drew a cross-checking penalty at the 16:11 mark to give the Gusties a 5-on-3 advantage. Allie Schwab found the Hamline net fifteen seconds into the 5-on-3 advantage giving Gustavus a 2-1 lead at the 16:26 mark. Mackley and Peterson were both credited with an assist on the goal.

With the Gusties still on a power play, Alyssa Gaulrapp scored a goal just 15 seconds later to extend the Gusties lead to 3-1. Peterson notched her third assist of the game on the play.  Gustavus goaltender Emily Klatt registered four saves and picked up the win.

The Gusties now look ahead to next weekend’s series against St. Mary’s with the two teams playing in Winona on Friday night (7:00 pm) and St. Peter on Saturday afternoon (2:00 pm).  The Gusties can assure themselves of at least a tie for the MIAC regular season title with a sweep of the Cardinals.

Box Score

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The Hamline Pipers managed only four shots on goal in the first period, but they made the most of their opportunities jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Alli Miller at the 4:57 mark.  The Gusties put 11 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of play, but Hamline netminder Andria Pinkerton rose to the challenge and made 11 saves giving the Pipers a 1-0 lead after the first period.

The Pipers continued to shut Gustavus down early in the second period and held their 1-0 lead until Mackley scored her first goal at the 7:11 mark with an assist from Allie Schwab.  Mackley gave the Gusties the lead for good with her second goal at the 18:33 mark.  Schwab and Meagan Wanecke were credited with assists.  Gustavus led 2-1 after two periods of play.

Gustavus broke the game open with two goals in the first six minutes of the third period.  The first by Kirsten Peterson at the 1:15 mark and the second a power play goal by Kelsey Kennedy at the 5:40 mark. Mackley assisted on both goals.  The Gusties closed out the scoring when Allie Schwab scored a power play goal with five minutes left to play.  Gracie Olson and Alyssa Saunders picked up assists on the goal.

The Gusties got some help in their quest for their six straight MIAC regular season title when Bethel defeated first place St. Thomas 1-0 and second place St. Catherine tied Concordia 6-6.  As a result of the Tommies’ loss and the Wildcats tie, Gustavus moved into a three-way tie for first place in the league standing.  All three teams have identical 9-3-1 records with five league games left to play.

Melissa Mackley moved into ninth place on the Gustavus women’s hockey all-time scoring list in the game.  Mackley, who now has 29 goals and 64 assists for 93 points, moved past Margaret Dorer (2004-08) with 26 goals and 66 assists for 92 points.  Mackley now needs seven points in the team’s five regular season games to become the ninth player in Gustavus women’s hockey history to reach 100 career points.

Box Score

Melissa Mackley opened the scoring with a power play goal at 12:13 of the first period.  Linemates Alyssa Gaulrapp and Allie Schwab were credited with assists.  Gustavus, which outshot St. Kate’s 12-3 in the first 20 minutes, led 1-0 at the first break.

The Gusties increased their lead to 3-0 in the second period on even strength goals by Allie Schwab (2:21) and Meagan Wanecke (5:13).  Mackley and Kelsey Kennedy picked up assists on Schwab’s goal, while Tam Meuwissen and Lindsey Hjelm registered assists on Wanecke’s goal.  The Gusties out-shot the Wildcats 15-4 in the period.

St. Catherine broke up the shutout with a goal by Katie Lawler at 5:14 of the third period, but that is as close as the Wildcats would get and the Gusties were able to pick up two important points and salvage a split in the series.  The Wildcats defeated the Gusties 2-1 in St. Peter on Friday night.

Gustavus is currently in third place in the MIAC standings with 13 points (6-3-1).  St. Thomas is currently in first place with 17 points (8-1-1), while St. Kate’s is in second place with 14 points (7-2-0).

Box Score

Gustavus goaltender Emily Klatt comes up with one of her 24 saves in the win over UW-River Falls.

The Gustavus women’s hockey team defeated UW-River Falls 2-1 at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter on Tuesday night.  Senior captain Melissa Mackley scored the gamewinner for the Gusties at 2:26 of the third period with assists from Lindsey Hjelm and Kelsey Kennedy.  Gustavus goaltender Emily Klatt shut the Falcons out the rest of the way and the Gusties held on for the important 2-1 victory.

UW-River Falls jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a short-handed goal by Jamie Briski at four minutes into the first period. The Falcons maintained their lead through the remainder of the period and led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes of play.

Melissa Mackley, who scored both Gustavus goals, pushes the puck up the ice.

The Gusties tied the score at 1-1 early in the second period when Melissa Mackley one-timed a pass from Kirsten Peterson past UW-River Falls goaltender Cassi Campbell at the 3:35 mark.  It was a power play goal for Gustavus.  The action really opened up the rest of the period, but neither team could score and the Gusties and Falcons went into the second intermission with the score tied at 1-1.

Mackley tallied the gamewinner for Gustavus at 2:26 in the third.  It was her second of the game and fourth of the season.  Both teams pushed the puck up and down the ice in the final 17 minutes of the final period, but the Gusties did not allow the Falcons to score the equalizer and the Coach Mike Carroll’s squad skated off with an important victory against the #5 rated Falcons.

Emily Klatt recorded 24 saves in goal for the Gusties.  Klatt improved to 2-1-2 on the season.  Cassi Campbell turned away 27 shots for UW-River Falls.

The Gusties will host Saint Mary’s University in a single, non-conference contest on Saturday at 2 pm at Don Roberts Ice Rink.

Box Score

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Melissa Mackley

Kimbra Kosak

Gustavus Adolphus College junior women’s hockey player Melissa Mackley and senior women’s golfer Kimbra Kosak have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team as released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Mackley, a College Division First Team selection, and Kosak, a College Division Second Team selection, are the fifth and sixth Gustavus student-athletes to be named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans this year.

Melissa Mackley (Burnsville, Minn.), a 2009 First Team AHCA All-America and All-MIAC selection, was a captain for the Gustavus women’s hockey team this season. Mackley led the Gusties in scoring with eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points. She finished second in the MIAC in scoring with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points, second in assists with 15 and second in power play points with nine (1g, 8a). A biology and pre-medicine major with a 3.95 gpa, Mackley is the daughter of Clarence and Icy Mackley of Burnsville and a 2006 graduate of Burnsville High School.

Kimbra Kosak (Grand Rapids, Minn.), finished tied for 27th individually at the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where she helped the Gusties post a third place team finish. Kosak was a honorable mention All-America honoree in 2007 and 2008 and Midwest All-Region honoree in 2008 and 2009. She received the Division III Kim Moore Spirit Award from the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) in 2008. Kosak was also recently named the Senior Player of the Year by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) golf coaches. Kosak, an elementary education major with a 3.85 gpa, is the daughter of Mary Kosak and the late Jim Kosak of Grand Rapids and a 2005 graduate Grand Rapids High School.

Mackley and Kosak become the 79th and 80th Gustavus student athletes to be named to a CoSIDA Academic All-America team. Mackley is the third women’s hockey player and Kosak is the second women’s golfer to be honored by CoSIDA. Gustavus ranks seventh among all Division III institutions in number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (80).

The Academic All-America Teams program honors male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The women’s at-large program for Academic All-America includes the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, golf, gymnastics, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, and water polo.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

Mackley, a forward, led the Gusties in scoring with eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points. She finished second in the MIAC in scoring with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points, second in assists with 15 and second in power play points with nine (1g, 8a). The three-year regular for the Gusties served as a tri-captain for this year’s team.

Peterson anchored a Gustie defense which led the nation in scoring defense allowing 0.74 goals per game. The St. Paul, Minn. native also contributed four goals and 12 assists for 16 points.

Gustavus, which won the MIAC title with a record of 16-0-2, finished with an overall record of 22-2-4.

2009 American Hockey Coaches Association All-America Team

West – First Team
Goaltender – Beth Spurrier, Bethel
Defense – Kirstin Peterson – Gustavus Adolphus
Defense – Rachael Graves – UW-Stevens Point
Forward – Melissa Mackley – Gustavus Adolphus
Forward – Jackie Carroll – St. Thomas
Forward – Nicole Grossman – UW-Stevens Point

East – First Team
Goalkeeper – Allison Cubberly – Elmira
Defense – Randi Dumont – Middlebury
Defense – Jamie Kivi – Elmira
Forward – Danielle Blanchard – Plattsburgh
Forward – Kayla Coady – Elmira
Forward – Stephanie Moberg – Plattsburgh