First-year Taylor Nelson on the forecheck. (Photo courtesy of Roisen Granlund, Gustavus Sports Information '17)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team was swept by the University of Wisconsin-River Falls by a score of 4-1 Saturday afternoon at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
With the loss, the Gustavus record falls to 6-5-1 overall, while the Falcons improve their record to 10-1.
An even first period left both teams scoreless, with the shots knotted at 6-6.
UW-River Falls broke through in the second period, tallying two goals including the eventual game-winner. Just over five minutes into the period, the Falcons scored one of their two power play goals on the game to gain a 1-0 lead. They would add another around two minutes later as Carly Moran was sitting on the doorstep to tap home her 10th goal of the season, giving UW-River Falls a 2-0 advantage heading into the final frame.
The Falcons quickly dampened any Gustavus comeback hopes, scoring just 00:26 seconds into the third period. Dani Sibley used a strong individual effort to score her team-leading 14th of the season to give UW-River Falls a 3-0 cushion.
Another goal on the man advantage allowed the Falcons to take a 4-0 lead at the 2:07 minute mark. Gustavus would not be shut out, as they were able to get on the board around the halfway mark. Marina Chapman (So., South Haven, Minn.) scored her first goal of the season on a rebound from a Diana Draayer (Jr., Deephaven, Minn.) shot, cutting the Falcon lead to 4-1 – which would stand as the final score.
“I thought we let down after they scored the first goal,” said Head Coach Mike Carroll. “I thought the girls were deflated there for five or six minutes and then we had a nice visit in the locker room between the second and third. It was sort of up and down in the first part of the third. As the period rolled on, we kept playing and there’s some positives we can take away.”
UW-River Falls outshot the Gusties, 26-24 in the game. Paige Press (So., Cottage Grove, Minn.) suffered the loss in net, making a career-high 22 saves in her first start of the season.
“My overall thoughts were that we played much better, start to finish than we did on Wednesday, so that was positive,” Carroll commented. “I think we have a lot of room for improvement. We still have to focus on getting better everyday. Now, with our conference and non-conference schedule, we know exactly what the competition level is that we need to set the bar for the rest of the season. It is a good time for break, we’re going to have a good time in Europe.”
The Black and Gold next prepare for its European Tour, Dec. 25-Jan. 2 as the Gusties head to Germany, Austria, and Italy.