SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team opened the MIAC season Friday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink and played to a 3-3 double overtime tie against St. Olaf. The Oles were able to pick up the extra point with a shootout victory. Both teams move to 1-1-1 overall and 0-0-1 in the MIAC.
Evan Erickson (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) scored the first goal of the game at the 16:09 mark of the first period on a perfect crossing pass from Colton Schmidt (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and the score stood 1-0 at the first intermission. With 2:20 remaining in the second period, Schmidt gave the Gusties a 2-0 advantage on a shot from the slot and the home team led 2-0 after 40 minutes.
St. Olaf was able to end the shutout three minutes into the third before the Gusties regained a two-goal lead at the 10:51 mark on a power play goal by Caleb Anderson (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.), who finished with two assists as well.
Trailing by two with three minutes to play, St. Olaf pulled its goalie and the extra attacker paid off 35 seconds later. And with just 17 seconds left on the clock, the Oles completed the improbable comeback with another extra-attacker goal to send the game to overtime.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, sending the game to a second overtime with the new three-on-three rule. Neither team was able score with three skaters on the ice, forcing a shootout. The Gusties missed all three shots, while the Oles netted their third to gain an extra point in the league standings.
The Gusties outshot the Oles 47-30 as Chris Amsden (Sr., Saint Peter, Minn.) made 27 saves.
The two teams finish the series at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Northfield, Minn.