(photo courtesy of SPX Sports)
SAINT PETER, Minn. – Youthful experience may best describe the Gustavus men’s hockey team as it enters the 2018-19 season.
One season removed from an unexpected run to the MIAC playoff championship game, the Gusties return eight of their top-10 scorers from last year, including a pair of All-Conference goaltenders.
“The experience these guys got last year is another piece of the puzzle in getting more consistently in a place to position us for postseason play,” Head Coach Brett Petersen said, who is in his 19th season at the helm.
This season’s team remains heavy in underclassmen with nine sophomores and 10 first-years. Three of those sophomores made a splash during their rookie campaigns with goalie Robbie Goor (Anoka, Minn.), defenseman Will LeNeave (Medina, Minn.), and forward Caleb Anderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) garnering MIAC All-Rookie Team honors.
“The best part of last year was how many first-year players got quality time on the ice,” Petersen said. “We played on average 10 freshmen each game so I’m hoping that pays dividends this year just as far as getting our young guys experience. Now they can take a step this year and contribute more.”
Seniors Evan Erickson (Woodbury, Minn.), Van Sullivan (Brentwood, Tenn.), and Colton Schmidt (Eden Prairie, Minn.) will captain this year’s squad. Erickson was second on the team in scoring last year with eight goals and nine assists. Schmidt was third with seven goals and eight assists, while Sullivan added seven goals and four assists.
All-Conference goalie Chris Amsden (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) is the fourth senior on the team and will be looked upon to remain a strong backstop for the Gusties. Amsden posted a 2.21 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 18 starts last year. Amsden will once again share time in net with Goor, who boasted a 1.87 goals against average and .929 save percentage in nine starts last season.
“It’s comforting when you start the year with really good depth and really good experience in goal,” Petersen said. “I don’t know if there’s another team in college hockey in Division I or III that has two All-Conference goaltenders.”
Petersen, the 2017-18 MIAC Coach of the Year, also acknowledged that with the departure of seven seniors from last year’s team, the upperclassmen this season will have to fill leadership roles both on the ice and in the locker room. Staying healthy is another area of focus.
“Our guys did a great job in the offseason from a training standpoint and the early look on our new guys is that we can skate, so we’re going to push and play fast,” Petersen said. “If we are able to keep our core group together and healthy, we are excited to play and see where it takes us.”
The Gusties, picked No. 4 in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll, open the season this weekend at the MIAC Showcase in Blaine, Minn. Gustavus takes on Saint Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Concordia at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in a pair of non-conference games at the Schwan Super Rink.