Women’s Hockey Ties UW-Superior 2-2 In Season Opener

Gustavus 2, UW-Superior 2 (Box)

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Playing in its first game of the 2015-16 season, the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team earned a 2-2 tie with the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Tuesday evening at Siinto S. Wessman Arena. The tie was the first time since 2009-10 that the Gusties earned a draw in their season opener.

“There were a lot of good things that came out of tonight, especially with it being our first game,” said first-year defender Erin Moes (Hastings, Minn.). “However, there is still lots of room for improvement. I think with Superior already having played two games gave us more competition tonight and helped us transition into the competitive season more easily.”

The Yellowjackets got on the board first, as Abby Constant-Bercie scored on a power play goal 12:32 into the first period to give the home squad an early 1-0 lead. The remainder of the first period would go on without scoring.

However, just 11 seconds into the second, the Gusties scored their first goal of the season when Erica Power (So., Lakeville, Minn.), Gustavus’s leading scorer from 2014-15, put one in the back of the net off assists from Kaitlyn Klein (So., Plymouth, Minn.) and Moes. Then, 17 minutes later, the same trio combined to score again, this time with Klein scoring and Moes and Power on the assists, to give the Gusties a 2-1 advantage heading into the game’s final period.

“We came out for the second period much harder than we did the first, and overall, the second was much better,” said Moes. “We may have been a little slow in the first period due to nerves and the fact that this was our first period playing together as a team. We weren’t moving our feet as much in the first and we weren’t moving together as a team. However, as the game went on, we began to pick up momentum.

To be a part of the last play to put the puck in net is exhilarating,” added Moes of her two assists. “However, every goal starts somewhere different on the ice, whether it’s in the offensive, neutral, or defensive zone and each girl is making an impact on the ice during every shift … even having energy on the ice and on the bench makes an impact.”

A little more than three minutes into the third, UW-Superior tied it back up at 2-2, when Leah Elledge scored her first goal of the season for the Yellowjackets. After that, neither team would score again in regulation, forcing overtime. There, each team was able to fire off three shots, but nothing would come of them, and the game ended knotted up at two.

The Gusties won the shot count by a 40-29 tally. Lindsey Hibbard (Sr., Princeton, Minn.) earned the tie between the pipes for the Gusties after playing all 65 minutes, making 27 saves, and allowing the two goals.

Gustavus will open its home schedule this coming Friday when it welcomes St. Olaf College to St. Peter for a non-conference game. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Rink.

“It’s thrilling to put on the Gustie jersey,” concluded Moes. “I’m more than excited for the games to come and to see what we can do as a team.”