Andrea Peterson leads the Gusties with 55 points.
Laura Stypulkowski leads Gustavus in assists with 30.
The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team will face Saint Thomas in the MIAC Championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Don Robert’s Rink in St. Peter. The Gusties beat Saint Mary’s 5-1 Thursday in St. Peter in the semifinal round. The Gusties are currently ranked #6 in the USCHO.com national poll as of February 28 and have an overall record of 22-3-1. Coach Carroll’s squad is led in scoring by Andrea Peterson who has 55 points (27g, 28a) and is three points shy of breaking the Gustavus all-time single season scoring record of 58 points set by Sarah Moe in 2002. Four other Gusties have 34 or more points, including Kelly Crandall (20g, 28a — 48 points), Laura Stypulkowski (16g, 30a — 46 points), Molly Doyle (16g, 26a — 42 points), and Ingrid Neve (18g, 16a — 34 points). Goaltender Kara Meyer has started 13 games for the Gusties while tallying an overall record of 11-2-1 and a save percentage of .890.
Saint Thomas beat Saint Olaf 8-1 in Saint Paul Thursday to advance to the championship game. The Tommies enter the league finals with an overall record of 21-3-2, winning 11 of their last 12 games, and are currently ranked #8 in the latest USCHO.com national poll. Saint Thomas is led in scoring by two women who have 34 points — Melanie Drake (22g, 12a — 34 points) and Tanaya Reitz (18g, 16a — 34 points). Three other Tommie players have 25 or more points on the season, including Ashley Reinhardt (16g, 14a — 30 points), Allison Turgeon (6g, 22a — 28 points), and Maureen Hardwick (12g, 13a — 25 points). Goaltender Becky Kilpatrick has started 13 games this season and has accumulated an overall record of 11-2-2 and a .943 save percentage. Katie Jetland has started 11 games between the pipes tallying an overall record of 10-1-0 and a .933 save percentage.
Gustavus leads the all-time series with Saint Thomas with a record of 10-5-1. The Gusties beat Saint Thomas in their first meeting this season 6-3 in Saint Peter to clinch the MIAC regular season title for the fourth time in their eight-year history. The Gusties finished the regular season with a 2-1 loss to the Tommies in Saint Paul.
Gustavus lost and tied Saint Thomas in 2002-03 before losing 4-1 in the MIAC Championship game failing to garner a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Gusties lost both regular season games to Saint Thomas last season, losing 3-1 and 4-2. However, Gustavus went on to beat Saint Thomas 3-2 in the MIAC Championship game to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The winner of Saturday afternoon’s game will receive an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which will begin on March 11.