Gustavus 3, St. Catherine 0 (Box)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College women’s hockey team was able to get back on track in its first home game of the New Year, defeating St. Catherine University 3-0 on Saturday at Don Roberts Ice Rink. The victory pushes Gustavus to 4-7-3 overall, and 3-2-3 in the MIAC, while the Wildcats drop to 1-10-4 overall, and 0-7-1 in the league.
“We have been having a tough time playing 60 minutes of hockey in our past few games. Today our goal was to play the entire game through,” said head coach Mike Caroll. “We tried to generate more offense and traffic in front of the net, which is how we scored our first goal of the second period. I am pleased with how we played today, but we still have a lot more to work on going into practice Monday, and preparing for next weekend’s series.”
The Black and Gold created several scoring opportunities for themselves in the first 20 minutes of the contest, and appeared to have the momentum. The Gusties outshot the Wildcats 11-3, but were unable to finish, skating to a scoreless first period.
Going into the second period, the two teams continued to battle back and forth, until the Gusties got on the board at the 5:48 mark when senior captain Allison Eder-Zdechlik (Stillwater, Minn.) gathered the puck directly in front of the Wildcat net, and put it through the top left hand corner. The goal was assisted by fellow captain Allie Lewis (Kearney, Neb.) to put the Gusties ahead 1-0. Seconds later, defender Laura Johnson (Chanhassen, Minn.) fired off a slap shot, and Eder-Zdechlik deflected the puck into the goal, her second of the day and 11th of the season at the 5:56 mark. Erin Moes (Hastings, Minn) was also credited with an assist. The action continued during a Wildcat power play, when first-year Marina Chapman (South Haven, Minn.) scored a shorthanded goal for the Gusties at the 16:28 mark, her second this season.
“In an effort to create more offense, we recently moved Marina to forward from defense. She adjusted quickly, and I was very pleased with how she played today.” said Caroll following the game.
In third period, the Gusties continued to keep their feet on the gas petal, but despite outshooting the Wildcats 8-4 were unable to score in the final twenty minutes of the game.
Gustie goalie Amanda DiNella (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) finished the game with 15 saves, improving her record to 3-6-3 overall. This afternoon’s game also marked her first career shutout. Wildcat keeper Kristen Pechacek had 30 saves. The Gusties ended the game outshooting the visiting Wildcats 33-15.
Gustavus returns to MIAC action next weekend in a home-away series against St. Olaf College on January 22. in St. Peter, Minn.