ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team earned its sixth consecutive win Friday night at Saint Benedict in a 3-1 decision. The victory gives the Gusties two more points in the MIAC standings as they still have a shot at the conference championship and No. 1 seed in the league playoffs.
Hamline and St. Thomas tied tonight, meaning the Gusties and Tommies are tied at 27 points, while the Pipers are at 28 points. A Gustie win tomorrow coupled with a Tommie/Piper tie would result in a shared MIAC title for Gustavus and Hamline. A Gustie win coupled with a Tommie win would result in a No. 1 playoff seed for Gustavus since St. Thomas is ineligible for postseason play.
After a scoreless first period Friday at Dave Torrey Arena, Saint Ben’s took advantage of a power play with a goal early in the second, but that would be its only lead and score of the game. Nearly four minutes later, the Gusties countered with a power play goal of their own off the stick of Kaitlyn Klein (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.), her team-leading 22nd of the season, assisted by Katy Fuller (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.) and Sydney Henrichs (Fy., Eden Prairie, Minn.). The score remained tied 1-1 after two periods before Fuller scored her second goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winner 9:19 into the third frame. And with the Blazer goalie pulled late in the game, Amelia Vosen (So., Anoka, Minn.) scored an empty-netter to secure the victory.
“We talked all week long about not taking any team in this league lightly, especially when that team hasn’t had much success,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “We weren’t happy or satisfied with the first part of the game; we made some uncharacteristic mistakes with bad penalties and on line changes, but we made some changes in between periods and played a really good third.”
The Gusties won the shot count 47-14 as Amanda DiNella (Jr., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) made 13 saves in goal. The Gusties went 1-for-3 on the skater advantage and killed off 3-of-4 Blazer power plays. The Black & Gold almost doubled up on the dots, winning the faceoff battle 39-20.
Gustavus and Saint Ben’s wrap up the series 2 p.m. tomorrow at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Senior Day.