ST. PETER, Minn. – Down two goals after the first period, the Gustavus men’s hockey team came out of the break with two of their own but gave up three to eventually fall by a 5-3 decision Saturday evening against the University of Wisconsin-Stout at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
The Blue Devils outplayed the Gusties in the first frame, holding a 12-5 advantage while claiming a two goals in the first 20 minutes.
Regrouping after the first intermission, the Black and Gold came out flying in the second period and got on the board just 50 seconds in. Van Sullivan (Jr., Brentwood, Tenn.) took the puck hard to net on a rush and slipped a well-placed shot over the shoulder of Tommi Ahlgren for his first of the season. The two teams then traded goals in a period busy with special teams play, each going 0-for-2 on the man advantage while Caleb Anderson (Fy., Sioux Falls, S.D.) claimed his second consecutive shorthanded goal, almost identical to his first collegiate goal last night. After receiving an outlet pass from Jake Bushey (Sr., Duluth, Minn.), Anderson beat the Blue Devil defender and made a nice move to bury the shorty.
Trailing 3-2 heading into the third period, the Gusties had their comeback efforts drained at 12:43 as Evan Butcher collected and fired a loose puck in the slot past goaltender Isaak Tjaden (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) for the two-goal lead. The Blue Devils then added an empty net goal to push the lead to 5-2 prior to an Evan Erickson (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) extra attacker goal, but it was too little too late.
Each team went 0-for-5 during power play opportunities, while UW-Stout outshot the Gusties 30-25. In his first start of the season between the pipes, Tjdaen made 25 saves while suffering the loss for Gustavus.
The Gusties, now 2-3-1 overall, head back into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action next weekend with a series against Hamline University.