SAINT PETER, Minn. — Back-to-back-to-back.
The Gustavus women’s hockey team won their third-straight MIAC Playoff Championship with a 4-2 win over Augsburg, clinching a bid to the NCAA tournament with the MIAC’s automatic qualifier.
The Gusties and Auggies met three times already in the regular season, with the Auggies owning the bragging rights of dealing Gustavus its only conference loss of the season. The Gusties, though, made their fourth meeting — and arguably most important meeting — count, defeating the Auggies 4-2, and outshooting them 29-14.
Brooke Power (Jr., Lakeville) started the scoring off early for the Gusties, finding the puck in the slot to send one directly over the shoulder of Auggie goaltender Chloe Stockinger. The Gusties didn’t wait long to add another, as a faceoff win from Emily Olson (Sr., Delano) ended up on the stick of the Gusties’ leading scorer Hailey Holland (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.). And, as was to be expected, Holland gave the Gusties a 2-0 lead just a minute and a half after Power’s tally.
Tina Press (Sr., Cottage Grove) scored the only goal of the second, stealing the puck from the Auggie defense to sneak around the corner of the net and stuff the shot in the top right corner. Katie McCoy (Sr., Grafton, Wis.), who wasn’t challenged between the pipes until the second, made five saves in the second frame.
The Auggies came into the third period with a comeback effort in mind. Augsburg scored two in the third, including one with just 1:49 left to play, making the championship a one-goal game, 3-2. Press erased any last minute hope from the Auggies’ minds, winning an outright foot race to skate the puck down the ice and tap it into the empty net for her second goal of the night, sealing the Gustie victory.
The win marks the Gusties’ eighth-straight, and their 24th of the season. The Gusties earned their MIAC-leading 14th Playoff Championship, and third in the last three years of the tournament. The MIAC’s All-Playoff Team and All-Conference selections will be announced later this week.
The Gusties will await the seeding of the NCAA Selection Show, set to take place Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.