The Gustavus men’s hockey team dropped its third straight MIAC contest Friday night with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of league-leader St. Thomas in Mendota Heights. The Gusties fall to 12-7-1 overall, 7-4-0 in the MIAC, while the Tommies improve to 13-7-0 overall, 10-1-0 in the league. The teams complete the home-and-home series Saturday night at 7 pm in St. Peter.
Following a scoreless first period, Garrett Gruenke put St. Thomas on the board with a goal at the 7:40 mark of the second period. The Tommies would add a second goal ten minutes later as Nick Harris scored his tenth goal of the season on a power play.
Brandon Wilcox added the final goal with just 43 seconds to play in the third period, converting on a five-on-three opportunity after the Gusties committed three penalties in the span of 75 seconds.
Treye Kettwick picked up the win in net for the Tommies, stopping all 25 Gustie shots he faced. Senior Erik Kraska (Plymouth, Minn.) suffered the loss for Gustavus, collecting 38 saves while falling to 10-5-1 on the season.
The Gusties, who had done well on the power play earlier in the season, went 0-for-4 with the extra skater. The Tommies benefited from 13 Gustavus penalties, converting 2-of-9 power play opportunities.