Drew Aspinwall battles for the puck against UW-Superior. (photo by Jessica Williams, Gustavus Sports Information)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team put forth a hard-fought effort Friday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink, but came out on the wrong side of a 2-1 decision against UW-Superior to fall to 3-9-2 overall on the season.
Four minutes into the first period, Gustavus got its first scoring threat as Evan Erickson (Fy., Woodbury, Minn.) hit the top of the pipe, but the puck deflected away. Nearly two minutes later, Sam Majka (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) and Jared Docken (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) both contributed on the assists as Van Sullivan (Fy., Brentwood, Tenn.) gathered a rebound and put the puck past UW-Superior goalie Ethan Wood’s right pad at the 14:20 mark for a 1-0 lead.
Van Sullivan celebrates his goal in the first period. (photo by Jessica Williams)
Gustavus nearly led 2-0 after Jake Bushey (So., Duluth, Minn.) went for a shot from the point and Jake McCann (So., Shoreview, Minn.) received the deflection on the right side with an open net, but tripped and could not get a clean shot off.
The Yellowjackets scored the equalizer as Anton Svennson took the puck off the boards and fired a clean shot from the left circle into the top-right corner of the net, making it a 1-1 game with 4:37 remaining in the first. The Gusties were able to kill off a UW-Superior power play to end the first and the two squads skated into the intermission tied 1-1.
The second period went scoreless as Gustavus took four shots compared to eight by the Yellowjackets. Both teams limited scoring opportunities with a more physical play than in the first period.
Nearly four minutes into the third period, UW-Superior scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a shot from the point that found its way past Gustavus goalie Erik Johnson’s (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) left shoulder for a 2-1 advantage, which held for the remainder of the game. Johnson suffered the loss after making 24 saves.
UW-Superior outshot Gustavus 26-20, while the Gusties went 34-of-70 on the draw. Neither team scored on the power play as Gustavus went 0-4 and UW-Superior went 0-5.
Gustavus remains at home for a 7:05 p.m. game tomorrow against No. 10-ranked UW-River Falls.