ST. PETER, Minn. – Following Friday evening’s 2-2 tie with Augsburg College in Minneapolis, the Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team took care of business Saturday with a 4-1 victory over the Auggies at Don Roberts Ice Rink. Senior forward Allison Eder-Zdechlik (Stillwater, Minn.) tallied the Gustie’s second hat trick of the season in the victory, which pushed Gustavus to 2-1-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the MIAC.
“I thought we came out really well today,” said Coach Mike Carroll. “Augsburg played really hard and well and had some outstanding goaltending both last night and this afternoon. It was nice to see us come out and answer after we didn’t play to our ability as often as we needed to last night.”
Almost the entire first period went by before either team was able to find the net, but at the 19:04 mark, Eder-Zdechlik was able to take advantage of a nice defensive play by Kaitlyn Klein (So., Plymouth, Minn.), got the puck on a breakaway, and earned her second shorthanded goal in as many days to put Gustavus ahead 1-0 with less than a minute to play in the first period. The Gusties weren’t finished however, as Eder-Zdechlik found the net again off a centering pass from Madison Bergren (Fy., Mahtomedi, Minn.), this time on a power play opportunity just as the buzzer sounded to signal the first intermission.
“During that first period, we forechecked hard and were able to keep the puck on their end for a solid 5-7 minutes … I don’t think they even got a sniff at our goal during that time,” said Carroll. “We didn’t have much to show for it in terms of goals until the end, but we set the tone early. We then had a few penalties near the end of the first, but we survived each and even got a shorthanded goal, and found a way.”
Neither team was able to score in the second period, despite a combined four penalties from both squads that resulted in eight total minutes worth of power plays. Then, in the third, Klein gave the Gusties a 3-0 lead off an assist from fellow second-year Diana Draayer (Deephaven, Minn.). The goal was Klein’s third of the season, while the assist marked Draayer’s third of the year.
Augsburg was able to get on the board with less than two minutes remaining after it pulled its goalie Erika Allen. The Auggies then threatened again after retaking possession following the goal, which allowed it to pull Allen for a second time. However, Eder-Zdechlik was able to gather the puck and put home an empty-netter to give herself a hat trick and secure her team’s 4-1 win.
“Allison has played very well for us this year and I’m very proud of her,” said Carroll. “I felt bad for her last night because we got in penalty trouble and I had to use her to do a lot of work on the penalty kill and even some odd-man rushes on the kill where towards the end of the shift she had to just dump it and change … and on several of those opportunities, she had space to go in. The best thing about what she’s done lately is, we’ve had to play her with a bunch of different line combos and she’s been rock solid in each. We’re hoping she can keep it going.”
Gustavus outshot Augsburg 31-22 and Amanda DiNella (Fy., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) played her second straight complete game. She held the Auggies to one goal, while making 21 saves to earn her second win of the season.
“It’s been nice for Amanda to get some game experience,” said Carroll. “She’s done well in practice, but the MIAC is a big step from high school or U19, so it’s been nice to get her some early opportunities this season. I thought she played confidently today, made some big saves, and is getting better day-by-day.”
The Gusties will head to Vermont for the Panther/Cardinal Classic that is being held at Middlebury College next Saturday and Sunday. There, they will take on No. 2 Elmira College on Saturday at 4 p.m. and defending Division III National Champion and current No. 1 Plattsburgh State University on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“It’ll be a fun trip for the team and a good chance for us to see some of those eastern teams,” concluded Carroll. “We have the opportunity to play Elmira and Plattsburgh, with Plattsburgh being the former national champion, so our goal is to go out there, compete, and be better when we come back. We want to use that trip as a springboard for when we come back and play Saint Ben’s the next weekend and are looking forward to the competition.”