DULUTH, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team started its season with a 2-1 win at St. Scholastica on Friday night.
“It was lot of fun to watch,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “The kids really turned it up a notch, played fast, and created opportunities. I feel we didn’t get rewarded with a few goals that we probably could have got based on shots. We only had a couple let-downs but we’re getting better each day.”
After a scoreless first period that saw the Gusties win the shot-count 19-1, Kristina Press (So., Cottage Grove) found the back of the net 8:39 into the second. Molly McHugh (Fy., Minnetonka) notched her first career point with the assist. Less than a minute later, Clara Billings (Fy., Rochester) kept the Gustie momentum going with her first career score on a power play with the help of McHugh and Lilia Scheid (So., Stillwater).
Gustavus carried the two-goal advantage late into the third period before the Saints cut the lead in half with 2:28 remaining in regulation. The Gustie defense fended off a couple shots in the waning moments to secure the victory.
Emilia Helms-Leslie (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) made 10 saves to earn her first collegiate victory in Black and Gold.
Gustavus held possession in the offensive zone for a majority of the game, outshooting Scholastica 35-11. The Gusties went 1-for-5 on the power play and killed off two skater-advantages for the Saints.
“We had to deal with a lot of adversity but the players responded,” Carroll said. “The penalty kill did a really good job. We understand that other teams are always going to play the full 60 minutes and all it takes is one goal to change the game, so it was nice to see us close it out strong.”
The Gusties have their home opener next Friday night as they welcome Concordia-Wisconsin to Don Roberts Ice Rink for a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup.