The Gustavus Women’s hockey team defeated Hamline 2-1 in overtime on Friday night in St. Peter. The winning goal was scored by Lindsey Hjelm at the 2:54 mark of the extra session to move the Gusties to 13-3-3 overall and 9-2-2 in the MIAC.
The Gusties dominated the offensive zone for much of the game, out-shooting the Pipers 48-18. Hamline’s Nicole Jones took the overtime loss with a 46-save effort, while the Gusties’ Danielle Justice captured her tenth win of the season with a 17-save performance. Gustavus led in face-offs, outdrawing Hamline 45-18.
In the first period, Gustavus out-shot Hamline 18-4, but weren’t able to score despite two power play opportunities. The first came just 1:04 into the game, when Colleen Brigl was whistled for hooking, and the second at 10:04 when Billye Nelson went to the box for tripping. The Gusties put 11 shots on goal during the two power plays.
Gustavus got on the board at the 2:40 mark of the second period when Amanda Cartony took a pass from Kelsey Kennedy and skated into the zone before slipping the puck past Jones for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Cartony’s third of the season. The Gusties wouldn’t stay ahead for long though, as Hamline’s Haley Johnson was able to flip the puck past Justice after a scramble in front of the net at the 10:53 mark. Gustavus continued to dominate the offensive zone for the rest of the period, but could not get the puck past Jones.
At the beginning of the third, Gustavus killed Maddie Bergh’s penalty while only allowing one shot on goal. After the penalty, the Gusties continued to pepper Jones but were unable to score despite tallying 15 shots. Hamline also produced a couple of nice scoring opportunities, but Justice was up to the task, making several sprawling saves for the Gusties.
In the five-minute overtime period, Gustavus took control of the offensive zone several times only to have Hamline quickly clear the puck to neutral ice. After an icing call against the Gusties, Gina DeNucci got a handle on the puck after the defensive draw and fired a shot that went off Jones’ pad. Melissa Doyle grabbed the rebound and tried to stuff it home but there was a scramble in front of the net before Hjelm was able to find the back of the net at the 2:54 mark for the Gustie win. The goal was Hjelm’s ninth on the season and gives her a team-high 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists). Melissa Doyle was credited with the assist on the gamewinner.
The Gusties are back in action tomorrow when they complete the series with Hamline, traveling to St. Paul for the 7:00 p.m. contest.