SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team continues its home stand this weekend for Parents Weekend, hosting UW-Eau Claire on Friday and UW-River Falls on Saturday. Both games start at 7:05 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Rink. The Gusties enter the weekend 5-7-1 overall, while No. 4-ranked UW-Eau Claire is 11-2-2 and UW-River Falls is 5-5-3.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
Gustavus is coming off a series split against Aurora last weekend, winning 3-0 on Friday and then losing 4-2 on Saturday. Through 13 games this season the Gusties score just as many goals as they allow at 2.5 per game. They take an average of 35.2 shots per game, which is most in the MIAC. The Black and Gold has done well on special teams, going 9-for-43 (20.9 percent) on the power play, while killing off 41-of-45 (91.1 percent) penalties – both marks that rank second in the conference. Caleb Anderson leads the offense with 10 points on four goals and six assists. Evan Erickson is next with nine points on four goals and five assists. Toby Sengvongxay (4g, 3a) and Colton Schmidt (2g, 5a) each have seven points. Chris Amsden is the top goaltender with eight starts, a 2.22 goals against average, and a .917 save percentage. Amsden, who has played in 49 career games, is 13 minutes away from becoming the 11th goalie in Gustavus men’s hockey history to log at least 3,000 career minutes. He enters tonight with 1,317 career saves, which ranks 13th in program history.
SCOUTING THE BLUGOLDS
UW-Eau Claire, ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com poll, is 2-0-2 in its last four games but hasn’t played since Dec. 8 in a 3-3 tie against Marian (Wis.). The Blugolds average 3.4 goals and allow 1.5 goals per game, along with an average of 35.3 shots. On the power play, Eau Claire is 10-for-65 (15.4 percent) and has killed off 54-of-64 (84.4 percent) penalties. Lucas Kohls leads the offense with 16 points on seven goals and nine assists. Steen Cooper (3g, 10a), Jake Bresser (2g, 10a), and Nathan Dingmann (4g, 7a) are also in double digit scoring. Zach Dyment has started all but one game in goal with a 1.63 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
UW-River Falls, 1-2-1 in its last four games, most recently played Milwaukee School of Engineering on Dec. 15 and lost 4-2. The Falcons average 2.8 goals and allow 2.3 goals per game, along with an average 29.2 shots. On special teams, River Falls is 11-for-46 (23.9 percent) on the power play and has killed off 27-of-37 (73 percent) penalties. Eddie Matsushima is far and away the top scorer for the Falcons with 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points. His .92 goals per game is tied for seventh best in NCAA Division III. Christian Hausinger leads the team with 10 assists. Zach Quinn has started all but one game in goal with a 2.26 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.