ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team is set to kick off its 2017-18 season this weekend at the MIAC Showcase at Schwan’s Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. with a pair of non-conference game against Augsburg University and Concordia College.
The Gusties will face the Auggies at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by a 7 p.m. matchup against the Cobbers on Saturday.
LIVE VS. AUGSBURG: Live Stats/Video
LIVE VS. CONCORDIA: Live Stats
“It is a great event for our league,” Head Coach Brett Petersen spoke about the MIAC Showcase, in which each team in the conference will take part in two games that will not count towards the conference standings. “It’s very popular with our players and coaches and is a chance for us to play a lot of our guys. Most teams will try to play as many guys as they can.”
About the Gusties
Gustavus heads into the 2017-18 season on the heels of a 5-15-5 record a year ago, finishing eighth in the conference standings with a 4-10-2 MIAC record. The Gusties return a good chunk of offense, boasting seven of its top 10 scorers from last season. Colin Hernon (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) and Evan Er ickson (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) both scored a team-leading seven goals last season, while blueliner Jake Bushey (Sr., Duluth, Minn.) led the team in both assists (16) and points (20).
Chris Amsden (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) returns as the most experienced goaltender. Amsden owned a 2.54 goals against average and a .908 save percentage in 10 appearances, while recording one shutout and a season-high 36 saves against UW-Stevens Point (11/4/16).
Despite playing well defensively, allowing 2.8 goals per game last season, the Gusties struggled to string together consistent scoring and were plagued with the injury bug. Gustavus scored first in four of its five wins last season. They finished the year 4-4-3 when scoring first, but were just 1-11-2 when its opponent netted the game’s first goal.
“We’re beginning the way we ended last year, from the standpoint of having four defenseman in a walking boot and one forward with a separated shoulder,” said Petersen, in his 18th season at the helm of the Gustavus men’s hockey program. “So besides that, everything has gone great. The good thing is, I really like our young guys. We’re going to have a lot of new faces here as we begin. We need to play to get some good things on video so we can begin to teach and assess where we are at and where we can go realistically.”
Tim Donohue (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.), Jake Bushey, and Evan Erickson will captain the Black and Gold. Donohue will wear the ‘C,’ while Bushey and Erickson will wear the ‘A.’
The 2017-18 Gusties feature 16 returners, while welcoming 10 first-years to the 29-man roster, which consists of 16 forwards, 10 defenseman, and three goaltenders.
Gusties picked to finish seventh in MIAC
Gustavus was voted to finish seventh in the MIAC 2016-17 standings, as voted on by MIAC coaches. Back-to-back MIAC Playoff Champion Augsburg University is the preseason pick of conference coaches to finish atop the men’s MIAC standings, while St. Thomas comes in at No. 2 as the defending regular season champions.
The 2017-18 campaign features a 25-game schedule – nine non-conference and 16 league games. The nine non-league games include Augsburg, Concordia, UW-Superior, UW-Stout, Aurora, St. Scholastica, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-River Falls. Conference play begins Nov. 3-4 with a series against St. Olaf. Three of the Gusties’ opponents are ranked in the Top-15 USCHO.com Preseason Poll, including No. 11 UW-Eau Claire, No. 13 Augsburg, and No. 15 St. Thomas.