After battling Bethel to a 0-0 tie through two periods, the Gustavus women’s hockey team scored twice in the first four minutes of the third period and then held on for the 3-1 non-conference victory at the Royals home arena in Blaine, Minn. The two teams had already played their regular season conference series, so this contest is recorded as a non-conference matchup. Three different players scored for Gustavus including Jessie Doig, Mollie Carroll, and Jenny Pusch, while Emily Klatt picked up the win in the nets making 12 saves. Gustavus improves to 8-1-1 overall, while Bethel falls to 3-6-2.
Gustavus outshot the Royals 18-3 in the first period and 13-5 in the second period, but the Gusties were unable to get the puck past Bethel goaltender Nicole Jones and the score was tied at 0-0 through 40 minutes of play. Gustavus however, took a 1-0 lead at 1:14 of the third period Jessie Doig scored her third goal of the season with an assist from Mari Gunderson. Two-and-a-half minutes later, the Gusties extended their lead to 2-0 when Mollie Carroll scored an unassisted goal at the 3:50 mark.
Bethel would cut the lead to 2-1 when Mikaela Mahoney scored a short-handed goal at 6:02 of the final period. The Gusties maintained its slim 2-1 lead until Jenny Pusch clinched the win with an unassisted goal at the 18:20 mark to make the final score 3-1.
Gustavus goaltender Emily Klatt faced 13 shots in the game and recorded 12 saves. In picking up the win, Klatt improved her record to 5-0-0 on the season with a goals against average of 0.60 which ranks first in Division III.
The Gusties, who are currently ranked #2 in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll, will now prepare for a very challenging week as they will face #8 UW-Stevens Point in St. Peter on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm followed by a critical Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against #9 St. Thomas next Friday and Saturday. Friday’s contest will be played at St. Thomas, while Saturday afternoon’s matchup will take place in St. Peter.