Van Sullivan scored his first collegiate goal on Friday evening.
St. Thomas 3, Gustavus 2 (Box)
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – Despite leading for the entire second period and most of the third, the Gustavus Adolphus College men’s hockey team could not hold onto a 2-1 lead, letting in two goals in the final 3:37 to suffer a 3-2 loss to the University of St. Thomas on Friday evening at St. Thomas Ice Arena. The loss moves Gustavus to 1-2-2 overall and 0-1-0 in the MIAC, while St. Thomas improves to 2-1-2 overall and 1-0-0 in the MIAC.
The Gusties and Tommies combined for three first period goals that left Gustavus with a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission. Van Sullivan (Fy., Brentwood, Tenn.) scored his first collegiate goal at the 10:22 mark off an assist from fellow rookie Edvin Johansson (Vasteras, Sweden), however, the Tommies’ Jordan Lovick was able to take advantage of a power play situation and score off assists from John Kirtland and Willie Faust to knot the score at one apiece. Gustavus’s Jake McCann (So., Shoreview, Minn.) had the answer however, and with just 27 seconds remaining in the period, scored a goal off assists from Will Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) and Sam Majka (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.).
St. Thomas outshot the Gusties 15-11 in the second period and 17-4 in the third, but nothing would come of those shots until the 16:23 mark of the final period when John Kirtland evened the game on his first goal of the season for the Tommies. Three minutes and five seconds later, with the clock showing less than a minute left in regulation, St. Thomas’ Jordan Lovick scored his third goal of the season to clinch a Tommie victory.
Erik Johnson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) suffered the loss between the pipes for Gustavus after allowing the three goals and making 38 saves. He is now 1-2-0 on the year.
Gustavus and St. Thomas will meet again tomorrow evening for their series finale at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.