St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey was able to earn its second straight MIAC sweep by grinding to a 1-0 victory over St. Thomas in the series finale on Saturday afternoon at Don Roberts Ice Rink. Brianna Seebold (Fy., Detroit Lakes, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal halfway through the second period, and goaltender Lindsey Hibbard (Fy., Princeton, Minn.) recorded the first shutout victory of her collegiate career by stopping all 16 of St. Thomas’ shots on goal.
Gustavus picks up four points on the weekend and heads into the Thanksgiving break with an overall record of 5-0-0 and an MIAC mark of 4-0-0. St. Thomas drops to 3-3-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the MIAC.
“Today was a different style of game from last night and it was encouraging to see this team be able to come out and adapt to the type game it was,” said Head Coach Mike Carroll. “St. Thomas played much-improved and skated a lot harder today and it took us a little while to get going. We didn’t have the luxury of a big lead tonight, but were able to score the first goal and hold on late.”
After a scoreless first period in which the Gusties outshot the Tommies 15-4, Gustavus scored the first goal of the game for the fifth time this season, this time coming at the 9:29 mark of the second period. Jenna Christensen (Sr., Albert Lea, Minn.) got free at the right slot and fired a wrister at the net. After St. Thomas goalie Alise Riedel made the initial save on Christensen’s shot, the puck came free at the left crease where Seebold was posted up to knock in the rebound.
The goal was Seebold’s third of the year, while Christensen now has two assists.
Despite being outshot 28-8 through the opening two periods, St. Thomas would not go quietly in the third. The Tommies put up eight shots in the final frame, two of which came in the final minute with an extra attacker on the ice. Hibbard stood tall and turned away all eight tries, keeping the shutout intact.
“Lindsey played well for the second game in a row. She had to make some big saves, especially down the stretch, and that’s encouraging to see and it gives our team a lot of confidence moving forward,” commented Carroll.
Hibbard improves to 3-0-0 with the win, while her counterpart, Alise Riedel, drops to 3-3-0 with the loss.
Gustavus had two power play opportunities inside the period, yet couldn’t find the back of the net. The Gusties would finish 0-for-3 on the power play in the game.
“I thought our kids played better as the game went on,” Carroll said. “You just never know what can happen late in a one goal game, a bounce here or there can be the difference between a two goal lead and a tie game. The team handled the pressure and was able to pull out a win, which is the most important thing.”
Gustavus finished with 37 shots compared to St. Thomas’ 16 in the contest. The Gusties were superb on the dots all game long, winning 47-of-55 face-offs. Carolyn Draayer (So., Deephaven, Minn.) led the team with a perfect 17-0 performance on the draw, while Meagan Wanecke (Sr., Delafield, Wis.) was also tough to beat at 12-2.
The Gustavus women’s hockey team will be off next weekend before returning to the ice on Friday, Nov. 30 for the opening game of a home/away series against MIAC opponent Augsburg. The Gusties and Auggies will square off at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night in Don Roberts Ice Rink.