Hamline goalie Sarah Schneekloth watches Amanda Cartony's (9) shot sneak past her into the net.
The Gustavus women’s hockey team earned a crucial sweep Saturday afternoon at Don Roberts Ice Rink, picking up four points in the MIAC standings with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Hamline. This weekend proved that more shots on goal doesn’t always equate to more goals as the Gusties outshot the Pipers 62-to-4 and 123-to-17 in the series, but came away with a pair of one-goal wins. With the sweep, Gustavus moves to 16-1-2 overall and 11-0-1 in the MIAC, while the Pipers fall to 8-9-2 overall and 4-7-1 in league play.
The Gusties controlled the puck early and often with the bulk of the game played in the Hamline zone. And 4:41 into the first period, the pressure broke through as Mollie Carroll fired a shot from the left circle and Amanda Cartony banked in the rebound from the right side for a 1-0 Gustie lead. Carroll’s assist was her team-leading 16th of the season. The Three Crowns continued to pepper Hamline goaltender Sarah Schneekloth throughout the remainder of the period with 23 shots on goal, but only the one made it past. The Gustie defense was stout, as it didn’t allow a single shot on goal in the first 20 minutes.
Gustavus fired thirteen shots to start the second before Hamline registered its first shot on goal of the game, which turned out to be the equalizer. After an injury timeout at the 11:07 mark, Haley Johnson took the puck down the left boards into the Gustie zone and caught goalie Danielle Justice off guard with a top shelf goal in the upper-right corner of the net only :09 after the stoppage of play. The score remained tied 1-1 at the second intermission.
Lindsey Hjelm fires a shot through traffic in the third period Saturday.
With 4:41 off the clock in the third, Courtney Boucher handled the puck behind the Piper goal, skated out to the low slot and flipped a wrister into the net, which proved to be the game-winner. The Gusties set a high tempo and were able to maintain possession throughout most of the contest. The payoff was their second consecutive one-goal victory over a conference opponent.
After an uneventful game in goal for the Gusties, Justice improved to 12-0-2 with three saves on the day. The same could not be said of Schneekloth, as she defended 60 shots in goal for the Pipers with two goals allowed in a losing effort.
The four shots on goal allowed by the Gustie defense was the fewest since Feb. 8, 2008 when Gustavus held Saint Benedict to four shots as well.
Three MIAC series remain in the Gusties’ regular season. Next Friday, Gustavus travels to Winona, Minn. for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff with Saint Mary’s University. Game two is set for 2:00 p.m. in St. Peter the following day.