Defender Andrea Peterson starts a rush up the ice for the Gusties.
Kelly Crandall sends a puck in front of the Ole net from the left wing.
The Gustavus women’s hockey team fought off a strong challenge from a feisty St. Olaf squad to claim a 4-2 win in St. Peter. The Gusties trailed 2-1 in the second period before rallying to post the victory. Margaret Dorer led Gustavus with one goal and one assist while Kitty Hurley made 13 saves and picked up the win in the nets. The Gusties improve to 10-1-1 overall and 7-0-0 in the MIAC, while St. Olaf falls to 6-4-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the MIAC.
The Gusties jumped out to a 1-0 lead when sophomore Andrea Peterson scored at 5:07 of the first period. Kelly Crandall and Laura Stypulkowski were credited with the assists. The Gusties, who outshot St. Olaf 8-4, led 1-0 at the end of the first period.
St. Olaf got off to a quick start in the second period and tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Emily Knutson at the 8:45 mark. Lindsay Boeser picked up the assist on the goal. The Oles took a 2-1 lead less than a minute later when Susannah Brokl slipped the puck past Gustavus goaltender Kitty Hurley at 9:27. Lindsay Weier was credited with an assist. It appeared that the Oles would take their lead into the lockerroom, however the Gusties kept the pressure on late in the period and Molly Doyle tied the score at 2-2 with just :27 left in the second frame. Kelly Crandall and Laura Stypulkowski each picked up their second assists of the night. Gustavus outshot the Oles 12-6 in the period, but the Oles outscored the Gusties 2-1.
The third period turned out to be all Gustavus with the Gusties scoring two goals and outshooting the Oles 16-3. Gustavus manufactured numerous scoring opportunities and hit the pipe three times in addition to scoring the two goals. The Gusties tallied what turned out to be the gamewinner at the 1:17 mark by Margaret Dorer with an assist from Becky Steiner. Gustavus picked up an insurance goal at 6:56 when Ingrid Neve scored on a breakaway off a pretty pass from Dorer to give the Gusties a 4-2 lead.
The win increased the Gusties league record to a perfect 7-0-0 and pushed their MIAC home winning streak to 13 games dating back to December of 2003 when they lost 4-2 to St. Thomas.
Gustavus and St. Olaf will wrap up the series with a game in Northfield at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 15.