The Gustavus men's hockey team will face Williams on Friday, Jan. 2 at 7:05 p.m. in Don Roberts Ice Rink.
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s hockey team will seek a turnaround on Friday, Jan. 2 when it hosts No. 14 Williams College at 5:05 p.m. in Don Roberts Ice Rink.
The Gusties head into the second half of the season with an overall record of 3-4-5 after going winless over its last seven games of 2014. Over that time-span, Gustavus went 0-2-5 with two shootout wins and two shootout losses. The Black and Gold gave up four points to St. Olaf in its last time on the ice Dec. 5-6. The Gusties skated to a 3-3 tie and then fell in the shootout on Friday night before suffering a 4-2 loss on Saturday night.
Williams heads into the new year with an overall record of 5-2-1. The Ephs were last in action the opening weekend of December as well, falling 5-2 to Hamilton on Friday, Dec. 5 and defeating Amherst 4-3 on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Friday night’s game will be just the second ever meeting between the Gustavus and Williams men’s hockey programs. The two teams last met on Nov. 24, 2012 in Williamstown, Massachusetts as a part of Gustavus’s weekend trek to the east coast. Thanks to a game-winning goal by Tyler Lapic (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) and a victory-sealing, empty-netter Jack Wash (Sr., Mahtomedi, Minn.) in the third period, the Gusties were able to skate away with a 4-2 victory.
Through the first half of the season, Gustavus averaged 2.67 goals per game and posted a team goals against average of 2.92. The Gusties hit at a 17.5-percent clip on the power play and proved to be tough to solve on the penalty kill with a kill rate of 91.9-percent – a mark that ranks third in the nation.
Leading Gustavus in scoring is Andy Pearson (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) who has recorded eight points off three goals and five assists. Jake Bushey (Fr., Duluth, Minn.) and Conor Deal (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) sit next in line with seven points each. Alongside Deal’s team-leading four goals, Blake Schammel (Sr., Red Wing, Minn.) also has four of his own.
Erik Johnson (So., Rice, Minn.) handled nearly all of the goaltending duties through the first 12 games of the year. Johnson went 3-3-5 in his 11 starts and carries a 2.81 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.
Through their first eight games of the season, the Ephs are averaging 3.75 goals and giving up an average of 2.5. Williams has been stellar on the power play with a 39.4-percent conversion rate and is killing off penalties at a 78.3-percent clip.
Forwards C.J. Shugart and Craig Kitto head into the weekend with double-digit points already under their belts. Shugart has 11 points off six goals and five assists, while Kitto also has 11 points off four goals and seven assists.
The Ephs have gone with Season Dougherty in goal for seven of their first eight contests. Dougherty is 4-2-1 with a 2.12 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and live stats for Friday night’s game will be provided by Gustavus.
GUSTAVUS LINKS
Roster | Statistics | Schedule/Results
WILLIAMS LINKS
Roster | Statistics | Schedule/Results