SAINT PETER, Minn. – No. 4 Gustavus women’s hockey won the rubber match 3-1 Friday night against No. 7 UW-River Falls to close out the calendar year. The Gusties improve to 9-1-1 overall while the Falcons drop to 7-3-1.
“The kids were engaged tonight after having a really good practice yesterday,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “You could see right away that our compete level was much better. Even if we were making mistakes, you could see we were competing well and it was a good answer. Our goaltender played well and I thought we played much better defensively down the stretch.”
After a scoreless first period, Molly McHugh (Fy., Minnetonka) scored her first of two goals in the game 4:18 into the second period. McHugh won a faceoff in the right circle and took a shot directly on goal for the score. Five minutes into the third period, Kristen Cash (Sr., Roseville) corralled a loose puck in the right circle and sniped a shot into the top left corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
“She’s a warrior,” Carroll said of Cash. “Hockey is a game of mistakes, but if she makes a mistake she has a short memory and keeps coming back and stays aggressive. I’m really happy to see her get rewarded on the scoreboard because she does so many things that coaches see but maybe fans don’t see. She’s a rock back there.”
Sixteen seconds after Cash’s goal, McHugh snuck a shot passed the near post from the left circle for her third goal of the season. Hailey Holland (Fy., Aberdeen, S.D.) and Kristina Press (So., Cottage Grove) were credited with the assists.
The Falcons ended the shutout 6:37 into the final frame, but the Gustie defense and goalie Katie McCoy (Fy., Grafton, Wis.) made a number of big stops down the stretch to secure the two-goal victory. McCoy finished with 28 saves and her fourth win in as many starts. The Gusties edged the Falcons 32-29 in shots. Both teams were unsuccessful on the power play.
Gustavus now takes a break from competition over the holidays and will make a week-long international trip to Europe the day after Christmas.
“It’s a heck of an opportunity for them and it’s also something historically that really does a good job of helping bond our team,” Carroll said. “It seems like when we spend time together like that in close quarters we come back even closer. To see the world and get a couple games in, fun exhibition games that we can play everyone equal and have a really good time. It’s something that they’ll remember the rest of their lives and hopefully that will be a nice springboard for us in the second half.”