The Gustavus women’s hockey team skated to a 1-1 tie with St. Catherine on Saturday afternoon at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter. Gracie Olson scored the lone Gustie goal.
The Gusties tallied 30 shots on goal to the Wildcats’ 15 on the day, but had trouble finding the net. Coach Mike Carroll acknowledged the lack of goal production despite the high shot count. “We just have to stay the course and keep working through it,” Carroll said.
Gustavus did a good job of controlling the offensive zone in the first period, but was unable to score despite three power play opportunities. With Gustavus on the power play in the last seconds of the period, Alyssa Gaulrapp found the net after a quick scramble in front of the crease, but after an officials’ conference, it was ruled that time had expired before the puck crossed the line.
The second period opened with a four-on-four match-up after Jenna Christensen drew a penalty for checking at the 1:14 mark. After both teams returned to full strength, the Gusties went on the offensive, peppering Wildcat goalie Mel Gerten with six shots in under two and a half minutes until Michaela Michaelson was able to break free and beat a Gustavus defender before going glove-side high on Danielle Justice for St. Kate’s first and only goal at the 6:06 mark.
The Gusties fought back by killing the tripping penalty called on Kelsey Johnson at 8:44 and outshooting the Wildcats 12-0 (four on goal) in the ensuing six minutes. After the tripping penalty on the Wildcats’ Bridget Braastad at 15:55, Gracie Olson was able to fire the puck through traffic and find the net at 17:09 for the power play goal. The goal was Olson’s third on the year.
“Gracie did a great job,” Carroll said, “She shot a nice low shot quickly through traffic. It was just a great goal.”
The third period saw Gustavus once again dominate the offensive zone, but they were unable to hit pay dirt despite good puck movement and several rebound opportunities. The Gusties’ best chances to score in the third came on a power play at 8:29 and on Christensen’s shot that hit the pipe with less than a minute to play in regulation.
During overtime the Gusties continued to press offensively, outshooting the Wildcats 4-0 in the five-minute extra session. St. Kate’s had a late opportunity after Lindsey Hjelm drew a penalty at 3:18, but Gustavus was able to kill the penalty and maintain the tie.
Gustavus returns to action at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, traveling to Superior, Wisconsin to play UW-Superior.