John McLean turned away all 39 shots he was faced with in Saturday's scoreless tie. Photo courtesy of Laura Westphal - Sport PiX.
St. Peter, Minn. – On a night where legendary Gustavus men’s hockey coach Don Roberts was honored with a bronze bust bearing his signature look was dedicated at the entrance of the ice rink graced with his name, it was only fitting that tonight’s non-conference game between the Gusties and Saints of the College of St. Scholastica was a historical one.
After 60 minutes of regulation and a five-minute overtime session, neither team could solve the other’s defense nor goaltender and the contest resulted in a 0-0 tie. Although it’s a common occurrence in the world of soccer, scoreless ties are rarely seen on the ice. In fact, in Gustavus’s rich 72-year history of men’s hockey that includes 1,550 games, never has a Gustie team skated to a 0-0 tie against an opponent. According to St. Scholastica Director of Athletics Communications Jesse Robinson, it is also the first 0-0 draw in Saint men’s hockey program history.
With Gustavus coming off a 4-2 victory over Finlandia, and St. Scholastica heading into tonight following a 5-2 setback to Saint Mary’s in games played on Friday night in St. Peter and Winona, respectively, both clubs were looking to gain momentum as they head back into conference play next weekend. St. Scholastica came out hot and controlled the tempo in the first period, blistering goaltender John McLean (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) with 13 shots compared to Gustavus’s five. The Gusties also killed off two penalties in the frame to escape without a blemish on the scoreboard.
The Gusties shifted the momentum in the second period and outshot the Saints 15-8. Despite the turnaround, Gustavus still couldn’t find a way to beat goaltender Tyler Bruggeman. Gustavus successfully killed off two more penalties in the second, while St. Scholastica negated the Gusties’ one and only power play opportunity.
St. Scholastica outshot Gustavus 16-11 in the third period, and the Gusties had a one shot edge 3-2 in overtime. The Saints were given another power play chance in the third, but the Gustie penalty kill came through once more.
St. Scholastica finished the game 0-for-5 on the man-advantage with 10 shots, while Gustavus ended up 0-for-1 with one shot.
Tonight’s historic tie can be credited in large part to the play of the young men between the pipes. Both stepped up to the challenge and at times made sprawling saves to keep the shutout intact. For Gustavus, John McLean earns his first shutout of the year and moves to 1-1-1 after turning away all 39 shots he faced. His counterpart, Tyler Bruggeman, turned away the 34 shots and is now 8-6-1.
Gustavus moves to 4-5-6 overall, while St. Scholastica records its first tie of the year at 8-6-1. With tonight’s tie, the Gusties set the program record for ties in a season previously held by the 1989-90 and 2010-11 teams that both skated to five draws.
The Gustavus men’s hockey team waves goodbye to non-conference play and will head back into its conference schedule next weekend when it takes on Augsburg in a home-and-home series. The weekend will begin on Friday, Jan. 16 with a 7:05 p.m. game in Minneapolis. The series-finale will follow on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7:05 p.m. in St. Peter.