ST. PETER, Minn. – In a back and forth battle from start to finish Friday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink, the No. 4-ranked Gustavus women’s hockey team and No. 8-ranked St. Thomas skated to a scoreless draw. The 0-0 overtime tie is the first since Jan. 14, 2011 vs. Trinity (Conn.) and just the third in program history, which includes 582 games over 21 seasons.
Gustavus controlled the pace of play throughout the first 20 minutes, outshooting the Tommies 11-2, but the visitors roared back in the second, outshooting the Gusties 15-9 in the second frame. The third period tilted back in favor of the home squad as the Black and Gold outshot the Tommies 13-6 in the final 20 minutes of regulation, but none of those shots found the back of the net and forced overtime.
Ten seconds into the extra frame Laura Johnson (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.) was whistled for hooking, putting the Tommies on the skater advantage for the next two minutes. St. Thomas was able to pepper Gustavus goalie Amanda DiNella (Jr., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) with six shots while on the power play, but the All-American goalie stood up to the challenge and turned away every shot. St. Thomas outshot the Gusties 9-0 in the five-minute overtime period.
The Gusties edged the Tommies 33-32 in shots on goal with DiNella and her counterpart Kenzie Torpy stopping them all.
“I thought we came out flying in the first period and took it to ‘em, but we just didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoreboard,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “They picked it up after that and it was a great hockey game. As the game wore on Amanda played so much better and better. We can learn from it and the best part about it is that we get to come back tomorrow and play right away.”
The Gusties and Tommies wrap up the series at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Mendota Heights, Minn.