ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s hockey team skated to a 5-2 victory over the Bethel University Royals on Friday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink. The game was tied 1-1 after the first frame, but the Gusties took off, scoring two second period goals, and netted another two in the third, earning a three-goal win over the Royals. The win brings Gustavus to 6-12-4 overall and 5-6-2 in the conference, while Bethel falls to 2-18-2 overall and 1-12-0 in the league.
The Royals took control early, scoring the first goal of the night 6:08 into the first period, as Taylor Brown scored his second goal of the season with an assist from Eric Szafranski. The Royals didn’t hold the lead for long though, as Evan Erickson (Fy., Woodbury, Minn.) scored his sixth goal of the season at the 9:11 mark with the assist going to Darren Lapic (Sr., New Prague, Minn.). The Gusties outshot the Royals 13-4 in the first period, and went into the second tied 1-1.
It took Gustavus only 36 seconds into the second frame to gain a two-goal advantage as Drew Aspinwall (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) found the back of the net for the third time this season following assists from Tim Donahue (So., Bloomington, Minn.) and Lapic. Van Sullivan (Fy., Brentwood, Tenn.) netted the third Gustie goal at the 14:31 mark and was assisted by Sam Majka (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) and Colin Hernon (So., Bloomington, Minn.). The Gusties were able to hold on to their advantage and went into the final period leading 3-1.
The Gustie streak continued into the third period where they scored two more goals. Hernon tallied his eighth goal of the season at the 15:38 mark. Joe Lindberg (Jr., Excelsior, Minn.) and Majka were credited with the assists. Sullivan found the back of the net for the second time at the 19:38 mark off assists by Lapic and Will Holtan (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) ending the game with a three-goal, 5-2 win.
Gustavus outshot Bethel with season-high 50 shots and managed to hold the Royals to just 19 shots, which is the second fewest allowed all season. Goalie Erik Johnson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) tallied 17 saves in 60 minutes. The Royals had four power-play opportunities versus only two for Gustavus, but neither team was able to score on the man-advantage.
Gustavus and Bethel complete the series at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Blaine, Minn.