In a tightly contested game that remained tied through well into the third period, Gustavus scored twice late in the third period to defeat Hamline by a score of 3-1 Saturday afternoon in St. Peter, Minn. Melissa Mackley came up big for the Gusties once again, scoring the game’s first goal in the second period and later assisting on the team’s final goal late in the third period. The Gusties improved to 15-4-2 overall and 10-3-1 in the MIAC, while extending their win streak to six games.
Hamline mustered only one shot on the Gustavus net the entire first period, but Piper goaltender Amanda Plumm kept the Gusties off the board by turning away each of their 18 first period shots. The game was tied 0-0 after one period of play despite a nearly constant Gustie presence in the Piper zone.
The scoring opened up in the second period with the game’s first goal coming off the stick of Mackley from Kirstin Peterson at the 5:30 mark. The goal continued a hot streak for Mackley, who compiled three goals and as many assists in the weekend series against Hamline. The Pipers tied the score at 1-1 late in the first period with Seanna Robinson’s shot finding the back of the net at the 19:44 mark.
Despite out-shooting the Pipers by a margin of 34-3 through two periods of play, the Gusties remained tied at one goal apiece heading into the third period. Plumm kept Hamline in the game for the first two periods, but costly penalties in the third period caught up to the Pipers. After compiling only two penalties over the first two periods, the Pipers were called for five penalties in the final 2- minutes, which ended with the Gusties scoring two goals within 31 seconds late in the game to put the game out of reach for Hamline.
With the Gusties already on the power play, the Pipers Ashley Maskel drew a cross-checking penalty at the 16:11 mark to give the Gusties a 5-on-3 advantage. Allie Schwab found the Hamline net fifteen seconds into the 5-on-3 advantage giving Gustavus a 2-1 lead at the 16:26 mark. Mackley and Peterson were both credited with an assist on the goal.
With the Gusties still on a power play, Alyssa Gaulrapp scored a goal just 15 seconds later to extend the Gusties lead to 3-1. Peterson notched her third assist of the game on the play. Gustavus goaltender Emily Klatt registered four saves and picked up the win.
The Gusties now look ahead to next weekend’s series against St. Mary’s with the two teams playing in Winona on Friday night (7:00 pm) and St. Peter on Saturday afternoon (2:00 pm). The Gusties can assure themselves of at least a tie for the MIAC regular season title with a sweep of the Cardinals.