SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team travels to No. 1 St. Thomas on Saturday for a MIAC Semifinal contest at 2 p.m. The Gusties enter the contest 16-5-5 overall while the Tommies come in at 20-1-2.
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 29-8-2, while going 25-3-1 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. The Gusties and Tommies have met nine times with Gustavus holding a 6-3 advantage. St. Thomas and Gustavus last met in the playoffs in the semifinals in 2016-17 with the Tommies prevailing 3-2 in St. Peter.
The Series
Saturday’s contest marks the 52nd all-time meeting between the two teams with Gustavus currently holding a 28-16-7 advantage. The two teams last met on Jan. 12 when they tied 2-2.
Scouting the Gusties
Gustavus enters the contest most recently defeating Saint Mary’s in the play-in game 5-0. Through 26 games this season the Gusties rank fourth in the MIAC in goals per game (2.81) and second in goals allowed (1.28). Gustavus has also been solid on special teams scoring on 16.0 percent (15-94) of their power play opportunities and killing off 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 24 points on a team-leading 12 goals and 12 assists. The trio of Amelia Vosen (11g, 7a), Lilia Scheid (9g, 9a), and Kristina Press (8g, 10a) are all right behind Stanger with 18 points. Amanda DiNella has started 25 games in net for Gustavus, notching 507 saves while allowing 34 goals for a save percentage of .937.
Scouting the Tommies
St Thomas is most recently coming off their only loss of the season when they concluded the 2018-19 regular season with a 3-2 loss to No. 4 Hamline. Through 25 games, St. Thomas ranks second in the MIAC in goals per game (3.44) and first in goals allowed (0.91). The Tommies have been solid on special teams, scoring on 17.1 percent (12-70) of power plays and killing off 91.0 percent (71-78) of penalties, marks which rank third and second in the conference respectively. St. Thomas has been led this season by Maddy Fiedler who has 28 points (6g, 22a), while Rachel Werdin (16g, 9a) and Alyssa Wallace (8g, 16a) are right behind her with 25 and 24 goals respectively. In net, Mackenzie Torpy has been one of the top goalies in the nation, making 442 saves while allowing just 22 goals for a save percentage of .953.