SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team played host to Concordia-Wisconsin Friday for its first home game of the season and took down the Falcons 5-0. With the win the Gusties improve to 2-0 on the year, while the Falcons fall to 0-3.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start, creating some opportunities but not finding the back of the net through the first 20 minutes of play. Francesca Gerardi (Fy., Yonkers, N.Y.) held her own in net, saving all six of the shots from Falcons, while the visiting goaltender saved all 10 Gustavus shots.
In the second period, the teams once again looked like they would play 20 minutes of scoreless hockey, until the Gusties were awarded a five-minute power play after a major penalty from Concordia. Gustavus took advantage, with Kristen Cash (Sr., Roseville) scoring a power play goal with Lilia Scheid (So., Stillwater) assisting to put the Gusties up 1-0 after two periods.
“We just didn’t play well our first two periods,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “As well as we played last Friday on the road, we thought we would be able to make another step in the right direction but for whatever reason we didn’t to start the game. I don’t know if it was our new uniforms or just being at home for the first time and being excited, but we hung with it. In the third period being 1-0, anything can happen, and we handled that adversity pretty good and got some goals, stuck with it, and played our best at the end which was nice to see.”
In the third period neither team scored for the first 11:25 but Gustavus found their offensive rhythm. Jordyn Peterson (So., Brookings, S.D.) got a goal at the 11:25 mark assisted by Grace Schulte (So., Little Falls) to extend the Gustavus lead to 2-0. Less than three minutes later, Stephanie Anderson (So., Blaine) scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Heather Olinger (Fy., Prior Lake) who recorded her first career point.
At the 17:11 mark, Lindsey Bjerke (Fy., New Prague) and Emily Olson (Fy., Delano) each got their first collegiate points when Jamie Byrne (So., Delano) scored her first goal of the season. The Gusties weren’t done though, as Peterson added her second goal of the contest with less than a minute remaining, assisted by Anderson to give the Gusties a 5-0 lead that they held on for victory.
Gerardi got the win in net, making 12 saves in the shutout.
The Gusties are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host No. 7 UW-Eau Claire for a 2 p.m. contest.
“We just have to move our feet more,” Carroll said. “We have to trust our legs and try to get to the middle of net. Today we were sort of content being on the perimeter as forwards and a lot of times we were content with feeding the defense. We have to go to net and that’s how we scored some goals toward the end of the game tonight. We got a little more gritty and that’s what we have to do for three periods tomorrow.”