The Gustavus women’s hockey team is off to its best start in school history and first year forward Molly Doyle has been a catalyst in the team’s early success. Doyle, an all-state honoree at Eagan High School, comes to Gustavus in the footsteps of her sister Ellen, an All-American defender, who graduated last year. Through 13 games this season, Doyle leads the team in scoring with 11 goals and 12 assists for 21 points and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points.
Doyle joins an impressive list of current teammates who have made a major impact for the Gusties in their first season. Last year, defender Andrea Peterson was the team’s second leading scorer (17g, 22a – 39 pts.) and named the MIAC Player of the Year, while forward Ingrid Neve led the team in scoring (21g, 20a – 41 pts.) and was named to the all-conference team. Two years ago, Abby Randall was the rookie standout, scoring 3 goals and dishing out five assists for eight points, while earning all-conference honors. This talented group has formed the nucleus of this current Gustavus team that is currently 11-1-1 and ranked third nationally in the U.S. College Hockey Online Division III poll.
The statistics show that Molly Doyle has made a quick transition to the college game, but things did not necessarily start off that way in the first three games of the season. Doyle had only one assist after the first three games, but that quickly changed with Doyle scoring 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in her last 11 games. She credits the team, and especially the upperclassmen, for helping her and the rest of the first year players through the first couple weeks on the ice.