Blaine, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s hockey team capped the opening weekend of the 2014-15 season with a 6-3 victory over St. Olaf on Sunday afternoon at the Schwan Super Rink. On what was the final day of the 2014 MIAC Showcase, the Gusties put three goals on the scoreboard in the second and third periods en route to their first victory of the year. Gustavus concludes the MIAC Showcase with a record of 1-1-0, while St. Olaf goes 0-2-0.
Following a first period that saw the Oles grab a 1-0 lead thanks to a Peter Linblad goal with less than one minute remaining in the period, Gustavus scored three unanswered goals within a 13-minute time-span inside the second period.
Andy Pearson (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from Jake Bushey (Fr., Duluth, Minn.) :32 seconds into the frame.
At the 11:51 mark, Colin Hernon (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.) scored the first goal of his collegiate career off assists from Gavin Tufte (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) and Drew Aspinwall (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) to give Gustavus its first lead up 2-1.
Less than a minute after Hernon’s goal at 12:42, Bushey got one of his own to put Gustavus up 3-1. Blake Schammel (Sr., Red Wing, Minn.) and Conor Deal (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) provided the assists on what was also Bushey’s first goal as a Gustie.
Despite the three goal rally and momentum shift, St. Olaf was able to answer with two shorthanded goals before the second period came to an end. Brian Hickey scored at 14:45 to cut the lead to 3-2, and Tim Tuscher scored at 15:52 to tie the game at 3-3.
The Gusties were opportunistic offensively and solid in goal throughout the third period. Gustavus scored three goals on eight shots, while goaltender Erik Johnson (So., Rice, Minn.) stopped all 11 shots he faced.
Cameron Jackson (So., Lakeville, Minn.) was Gustavus’s third rookie to score his first career goal in the game when he hit the back of the net at the 5:31 mark. Tyler Lapic (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) and Tim Donohue (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.) provided the dimes on Jackson’s game-winner.
Within one minute of Jackson’s tally, Bushey scored his second goal of the game off a Jack McCann (Fr., Shoreview, Minn.) assist at the 6:17 mark to give Gustavus a 5-3 advantage.
Gavin Tufte added an empty net goal with :10 seconds remaining to bring the game to a final at 6-3
Erik Johnson earned his first victory of the season in a complete-game, 25-save effort. His counterpart, Steve Papciak, suffered the loss after allowing five goals and making 19 saves.
St. Olaf had a slight edge in shots 28-25. Neither squad could capitalize on the power play, as Gustavus was 0-for-2 and St. Olaf was 0-for-1.
The Gustavus men’s hockey team will be back in action next weekend when it opens its home schedule with a pair of games against WIAC opponents at Don Roberts Ice Rink. The Gusties will face off against UW-Stevens Point at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7, and UW-Stout at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8.