Evan Erickson fires a shot on St. Olaf goalie Jude Hull. (photo by Roisen Granlund '17, Gustavus Sports Information)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team suffered a 3-2 overtime setback Friday against St. Olaf. A penalty called against Gustavus early in the overtime period set up the game-winning goal for the visitors, dropping the Gusties to 1-11-4 overall and 0-6-1 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
After a scoreless first period where shots were even 10-10, Jake McCann (Jr. Shoreview, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season after a turnover at the Ole blue line. Drew Aspinwall (Sr., Dayton, Minn.) forced the turnover and Van Sullivan (So., Brentwood, Tenn.) was in on the assist as well. But not even a minute later St. Olaf netted the equalizer after a shot bounced high off the end glass, over the net, and was hammered home from low in the slot. The visitors then took a 2-1 lead with 1:24 remaining in the second on a shot that snuck underneath goalie Erik Johnson (Sr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.).
It wasn’t until the 8:08 mark of the third that the Gusties were able to tie the game as Tim Donohue (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.) skated toward the net from the left side and found the top shelf for his second score of the season, assisted by McCann. Gustavus edged the Oles 32-31 in shots after regulation, but was unable to net the game-winner and the visitors stole the game away 22 seconds into the extra period with the power play goal.
Johnson took the loss after making 29 saves. He is now 1-6-1 on the season.
Gustavus and St. Olaf wrap up the series at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Northfield Ice Arena.