The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team will have Friday and Saturday off, but will head back into action starting Sunday with a tough rematch against fifth ranked UW-Stevens Point followed by a rematch with tenth ranked UW-Superior on Tuesday. The Gusties, who are currently ranked #2 in the USCHO.com national poll, are coming off a sweep of St. Mary’s where they out shot the Cardinals 110-15. The sweep improves Gustavus’ overall record to 13-1-1, with a conference mark of 10-0-0. Coach Carroll’s squad is led in scoring by Molly Doyle with 27 points (13g, 14a). Andrea Peterson is the second leading scorer with 25 points (13g, 12a), followed by senior captain Laura Stypulkowski with 24 points (4g, 20a). Ingrid Neve led the Gusties in scoring this past weekend with four points (3g, 1a), including two goals on Friday night.
Gustavus’ first opponent will be UW-Stevens Point on Sunday afternoon in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The Pointers come into this weekend’s game with a record of 15-2-0, and lead the NCHA with a conference mark of 7-0-0. UW-Stevens Point is led in scoring by Liz Goergen (11g, 11a) and Ann Ninnemann (9g, 13a), both with 22 points. Goaltender Ann Statz has won 12 games for the Pointers, accumulating a 1.51 goals against average while saving 91.4% of the shots she has faced. UW-Stevens Point leads the all-time series against Gustavus with a 5-2-1 record, but the Gusties defeated the Pointers 6-4 in River Falls, Wisconsin in early January.
Gustavus will get Monday off before traveling to Superior, Wisconsin to take on UW-Superior Tuesday night. The Yellowjackets currently have a 10-3-1 record overall, and are coming off a split with UW-River Falls this past weekend. UW-Superior is led in scoring by Erin Kegley with 23 points (15g, 8a). Kegley leads the Yellowjackets with five game-winning goals. Goaltender Kristy Faechner is a main part of the team’s success with a record of 8-2-1, saving over 92% of the shots she has faced. Gustavus leads the all-time series against UW-Superior with a 4-0-1 record. These teams faced off in early November when the Yellowjackets came to St. Peter and tied the Gusties 2-2, despite Gustavus having a 38-9 edge in shots.
Facing the fifth and tenth ranked teams in the nation will be an important test for the #2 ranked Gusties to see where they fit in the national picture. These two games will be the last non-conference games for Gustavus before the home stretch of the MIAC schedule. Coach Carroll’s squad will be looking to claim the MIAC regular season title that has eluded them the past two years.