SAINT PETER, Minn. — In case the Gusties and the Auggies haven’t had enough of each other already this year, meeting three times already in the regular season, the two teams are set to face each other for the MIAC Playoff title game, hosted by the No. 1 Gusties at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Saturday at 2 p.m.
THE SERIES
Saturday’s game will mark the 58th all-time meeting between the two teams, with the Gusties holding a winning record of 42-11-4. In the playoffs, the two teams have met three times for an Auggie winning record of 2-1, with the most recent meeting in the 2020 playoffs, with the Gusties defeating the Auggies 3-0 in the MIAC Championship. The Gusties are 13-5 in all-time championship games, having won the last two titles in 2022 and 2020. The Gusties and Auggies have met three times this season, first on the teams’ non-conference season opener hosted by Gustavus, with the home team walking away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by Clara Billings (Sr., Rochester).
The second game belongs to the Auggies, as they hold the bragging rights of dealing Gustavus its only conference loss of the season, a 3-2 overtime decision on Jan. 20. The Auggies take claim for knocking No. 1 Gustavus off its pedestal and earned their way into the USCHO.com DIII Women’s Hockey poll for a week at No. 15. Goals from Sophia Coltvet (Jr., Arden Hills) and Brooke Power (Jr., Lakeville) wouldn’t be enough to carry the Gusties, as Augsburg’s first-year Nora Stepan was the eventual hero, scoring the Auggies second goal and the overtime game winner midway through the extra period.
The Gusties certainly got revenge in the rematch the following day, dealing the Auggies a 4-0 setback. Lindsey Bjerke (Sr., New Prague) started the scoring off early, netting her first of the season just 4:19 into the game. First-year Margot Bettman (Chicago, Ill.) picked up another first, scoring her first collegiate goal just four minutes later. Brooke Remington (Jr., Scandia) and Kayla Vrieze (Sr., Eagan) rounded out the scoring with two more goals to seal the victory. Katie McCoy (Sr., Grafton, Wis.) made just eight saves to earn the shutout.
The Gusties, ranked No. 1 in the nation, added one more win to their streak Sunday, and will enter the championship having won seven straight, while the Auggies, who received votes in the latest poll, enter having won five-straight of their own.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
The Gusties scored five goals in their semifinal victory over Hamline on Sunday, outshooting the Pipers by a staggering 52-7 margin. Lily Mortenson (Fy., Champlin), in her first-ever collegiate playoff game, scored the opening goal in the first period. The floodgates opened in the second, as Tina Press (Sr., Cottage Grove) added two and Kaitlyn Holland (So., Aberdeen, S.D.) and Power picked up goals in the second frame of play. McCoy picked up another win between the pipes, saving six of seven shots faced. Hailey Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.) still stands as the Gusties’ point leader, scoring 32 on the season, including two assists in the semifinal victory. Emily Olson (Sr., Delano) sits second with 26 points, including 20 assists, while Kaitlyn Holland and Power continue to share third overall, with 16 goals and nine assists for 25 points each.
Press and Hailey Holland continue to move up the Gustie all-time leaderboard, as Press now holds sole possession of eighth in the record books with 116 points and Holland’s 107 are good for 12th. Katie McCoy is now just six wins shy of the program record and needs three more shutouts to be the NCAA’s active leader amongst male and female players of any division. The Gusties boast 17 NCAA top-10 statistics, including the most power play goals by any team (37). McCoy is the nation’s leader in goals-against-average (0.790) as well. The Gusties finished the regular season leading the MIAC in every team statistical category, and posted 13 individual category leaders.
SCOUTING THE AUGGIES
Augsburg entered MIAC postseason play as the No. 2 seed overall, earning a bye through the quarterfinals. The Auggies hosted Saint Benedict last Saturday, defeating the No. 3 seed 5-2 after falling to an early 2-0 deficit. The Auggies got goals from five different players, including one from Emily Cronkhite, who also added two helpers in the semifinal, and leads the conference in points at 33. Katie Flynn also picked up a multi-point night, scoring one and assisting another. Chloe Stockinger, the Auggies go-to netminder this season, finished making 20 saves on 22 shots.
The Auggies fall just behind the Gusties in nearly every conference statistic, finishing second overall in the standings and in scoring. Cronkhite is one point up on Hailey Holland at 33 this season, while the Auggies’ Kennedy Stein’s 19 assists are second in the MIAC only to Emily Olson. First-year defender Nora Stepan has made a splash in the MIAC in her collegiate debut, scoring eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points, including two game winners. Stockinger has been the leading goaltender for the Auggies, averaging 1.79 goals against with a .926 save percentage for a record of 12-6-2.