SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team will play host to Saint Mary’s on Thursday night for a MIAC quarterfinal contest. The Gusties enter the contest 15-5-5 overall and 11-3-4 in the MIAC while the Cardinals are 9-10-6 overall and 6-8-4 in the league.
The Series
Thursday’s contest will mark the 57th all-time matchup between the two teams with Gustavus currently leading the series 45-6-5. The two teams last met on Jan. 26 and tied 1-1
Gusties in the Playoffs
Last season, the Gusties won the MIAC regular season title, but were upset in the Championship by Hamline. In the 19-year history of the playoff field, Gustavus has posted a record of 28-8-2, while going 24-3-1 at home. Prior to Hamline winning the conference title, St. Thomas had won the past four MIAC Playoff titles, with the Gusties last title coming during the 2012-13 season as they won their 10th straight playoff championship. Gustavus will also be playing in its first ever play-in game on Thursday. The Cardinals and Gusties have met six times in playoff history with both teams winning two games, and the teams also tying twice back when the playoffs had a best of three format and ties were allowed.
Scouting the Gusties
Gustavus enters the contest most recently following a convincing 5-0 win over Saint Ben’s on Saturday. Through 25 games this season the Gusties rank fourth in the MIAC in goals per game (2.72) and second in goals allowed (1.33). Gustavus has also been solid on special teams scoring on 16.3 percent (15-92) of their power play opportunities and killing of 88.4 percent (61-69) of their penalties, marks which rank fifth and third in the league respectively. The Black and Gold have been led on the attack by Allie Stanger who has totaled 22 points on a team-leading 12 goals and 10 assists. The trio of Amelia Vosen (11g, 6 a), Lilia Scheid (8g, 9a), and Kristina Press (7g, 10a) are all right behind Stanger with 17 points. Amanda DiNella has started 24 games in net for Gustavus, notching 491 saves while allowing 34 goals for a save percentage of .935.
Scouting the Cardinals
Saint Mary’s is most recently coming off a series sweep of St. Olaf last weekend to help secure themselves the fifth and final playoff spot. After starting the season 4-7-3, the Cardinals turned their season around, going 5-3-3 in their last 11 games. Through 25 games, Saint Mary’s has struggled to find the back of the net consistently, ranking ninth in the MIAC in goals per game (1.76) while they have been solid in net allowing a fifth best 2.27 goals per contest. The Cardinals have also been inconsistent on special teams, scoring on just 8.2 percent (8-97) of power plays and killing ff 84.0 percent (79-94) of penalties, marks which rank ninth and sixth in the conference respectively. Saint Mary’s has been led this season by Natalie Ryan (8g, 7a) and Courtney Moser (2g, 13a) who each have 15 points, while Bailey Wendt and Carolyn Chrastka have 14 and 12 points respectively. In net, Ary Ziakas has started 13 games in net, including six of the last seven, posting 328 saves on the season while allowing 26 goals for a save percentage of .927.