Allie Stanger and teammates celebrate her power play goal early in the first period. (Photo courtesy of Matt Berkner, Gustavus Sports Information '19)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team used two power play goals in the first period to edge the College of Saint Benedict by a score of 2-1 Friday evening at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
With the win the Gusties push their overall record to 5-3-1 (2-2-1 MIAC), while the Blazers fall to 2-4 (0-4 MIAC).
For the third consecutive game, Gustavus recorded a power play tally for its first goal of the game. Just a minute into the game, Saint Benedict was penalized for a hooking call and the Gusties capitalized soon after as Allie Stanger (So., Paynesville, Minn.) tipped in a shot from the point by Erica Power (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.).
Just over the halfway point of the first period, the Gusties extended their lead with another goal on the man advantage. Laine Fischer (So., Northfield, Minn.) and Power assisted on a shot from the point from Nicole Abraham (Fy., St. Paul, Minn.) that snuck past Blazer netminder Julia Carle to give Gustavus a 2-0 lead. Abraham’s first collegiate goal stood as the eventual game-winner.
“We came out and played absolutely awesome in the first period,” said Head Coach Mike Carroll. “We showed our speed and played very well for a good portion of the time.”
The Black and Gold poured on the offense through the first two periods, outshooting the Blazers 32-6.
Saint Benedict made things interesting towards the end of the third period, registering a power play goal of their own and cutting the Gustie lead in half, 2-1. With under two minutes remaining, the Blazers pulled their goaltender. The Gustavus defense stood tall and was able to add an empty net goal from Kaitlyn Klein (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) for a safe 3-1 lead, her team leading fourth of the season.
“They get that goal and all of the sudden it’s a 2-1 hockey game, and anything can happen,” Carroll commented. “They weathered the storm and it was a good win. We have a lot of things we can very happy about tonight and also some examples of things we can continue to work on but we’re making a lot of progress.”
Gustavus finished the game outshooting Saint Benedict 53-8. The last time Gustavus posted 50 or more shots was against St. Olaf during the 2012-13 season. The last time Gustavus allowed less than eight shots was during the 2013-14 season when the Gusties allowed just seven shots on goal in a win over Augsburg College.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon in St. Cloud, Minn. as the Gusties face off against the Blazers at 3 p.m.