PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team headed to New York knowing it would immediately face difficult competition in its first round game with No. 1 Plattsburgh State University. Plattsburgh lived up to its top national rank, taking a 4-1 lead midway through the third period, however, Gustavus would rally with three straight goals to tie the score at four at the end of regulation. The Gusties and Cardinals could not find the net in overtime before Plattsburgh earned a 2-1 shootout victory that will send it to Sunday’s championship game with No. 3 Elmira College, who defeated No. 5 Middlebury College 4-1 in the tournament’s other first round matchup. The tie was the Gusties’ first non-win of the season and brings their record to 5-0-1, while Plattsburgh moves to 7-0-2.
“We’re very proud of our effort tonight,” said senior co-captain Carolyn Draayer (Deephaven, Minn.). “We never gave up, which was very encouraging and shows who we are as a team. Although we hung together, we still aren’t satisfied with a tie and know we can continue to get better and compete with these top teams.”
The Gusties got off to a rough start early when Cardinal first-year forward Melissa Sheeran got the defending national champs on the board just 1:28 into the game with her fourth goal of the season off an assist from teammate Kayla Meneghin. Both teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the period before Plattsburgh made it a 2-0 game when senior defender Mia Favretto put the Cardinals on the board again with her third goal of the season off assists from Bridget Balisy and Shannon Stewart.
Draayer would keep the Gusties within reach when she scored her third goal of the season off assists from her sister Diana Draayer (Fy., Deephaven, Minn.) and Lydia Wagner (So., Zumbrota, Minn.) at the 10:33 mark in the second period to make it a 2-1 game in favor of Plattsburgh.
However, Balisy gave the Cardinals their two-goal lead back when she scored at the 17:32 mark in the second period to give Plattsburgh a 3-1 advantage heading into the game’s final frame. 9:03 into the third period, Cardinal defender Andrea Ziesmann padded the Plattsburgh lead by scoring her first goal of the season to make it a 4-1 Cardinal advantage with just 10:57 remaining in the game.
Gustavus continued to fight though, and with just 6:44 remaining, Emily Reibert (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) gave the Gusties a glimmer of hope when she continued her hot streak by scoring her third goal in as many games to put Gustavus within two. Four and a half minutes passed before first-year forward Katy Fuller (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored an unassisted goal at 17:41 to put the score at 4-3 in favor of Plattsburgh with just 2:19 remaining in the game. Gustavus wasn’t finished yet however and wouldn’t take its time scoring its next goal. Just 11 seconds after Fuller’s score, Carolyn Draayer scored her second goal of the game off an assist from first-year Erica Power (Lakeville, Minn.) to tie the game at 4-4 and complete the Gustie comeback.
“This was a great opportunity to play against one of the top teams in the nation…it’s not every day you get to do that,” said senior co-captain Courtney Boucher (Hastings, Minn.). “It was great to prove to ourselves and others that we can skate with that type of team. Overall it was a great challenge and our team faced some adversity, but it was a fun game and we are looking forward to another challenge tomorrow in Middlebury!”
For the first time all season, Gustavus was outshot, as Plattsburgh held a 42-26 shot advantage on the evening. Gustavus went 0-for-4 on the its power play opportunities, while Plattsburgh missed out on its one power play chance. Lindsey Hibbard (Jr., Princeton, Minn.) played the entire 65 minutes between the pipes to earn the tie and move her record to 4-0-1 on the season. She allowed four goals and made 38 saves on the evening.
Gustavus will have less than 24 hours to recover, as it will compete in tomorrow’s consolation game against No. 5 Middlebury College at 1 p.m. at Stafford Ice Arena. Plattsburgh and Elmira will follow with the championship game at 4 p.m.