The Gustavus women’s hockey team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Saint Mary’s University 4-2 in Winona, Minn. on Friday night. The Gusties got goals from Andrea Peterson, Mari Gunderson, Jenny Pusch, and Ingrid Neve, while Amanda Rosequist picked up the win in the nets.
The Gusties got off to a slow start in the game and Saint Mary’s took full advantage. The Cardinals took a 1-0 on a goal by Jessica Ribish at the 4:10 mark. Later in the period, Saint Mary’s extended the lead to 2-0 on a goal by Madeline Loftus at the 16:19 mark. Gustavus goaltender Amanda Rosequist kept the Gusties from getting in an even deeper hole as she turned away two Cardinal breakaways. First year forward Mari Gunderson gave the Gusties a big lift with a power play goal at the 18:37 mark. Gustavus entered the locker room trailing 2-1.
The momentum changed in the second period and the Gusties began to control play. Gustavus outshot the Cardinals 21-4 in the second period, but some strong goaltending by Saint Mary’s netminder Nikki Jung kept Gustavus from breaking the game open. Gustavus did manage to tie the score on a power play goal by Jenny Pusch ((FY, Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels) at the 9:45 mark. The game was tied 2-2 at the end of the second period.
Gustavus began to wear the Cardinals down in the third period with most of the play taking place in the Saint Mary’s end of the rink. The Gusties took their first lead of the game on a goal by Ingrid Neve (JR, St. Paul, Minn./Roseville) with 12 minutes left in the game. Gustavus would keep peppering the Cardinals with shots until Andrea Peterson (JR, White Bear Lake, Minn.) gave the Gusties a 4-2 lead with an unassisted goal at the 11:06 mark.
The Gusties finished the contest with a 57-19 shot advantage. Amanda Rosequist picked up the win in the nets. She recorded 17 saves and allowed two goals. She improves to 5-0-0 this season. Saint Mary’s was whistled for six penalties for 12 minutes, while the Gusties were charged with two penalties for four minutes. Gustavus converted two of its six power play opportunities, while the Cardinals were unable to convert either of their power play opportunities.
The two teams will wrap up the series with a game in St. Peter on Saturday at 2:00 pm.