AMHERST, Mass. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team is back in the national championship game for the second straight season after a thrilling 3-2 double overtime win over Plattsburgh State on Friday.
The Gusties had to fight back from an early deficit as Plattsburgh took advantage of a turnover and sniped in a goal over goalie Katie McCoy’s (Sr., Grafton, Wis.) shoulder just 3:31 into the game. Nearly seven minutes later, Tina Press (Sr., Cottage Grove) buried a shot from in front of the crease to tie the score. Sophia Coltvet (Jr., Arden Hills) and Emily Olson (Sr., Delano) assisted on the equalizer and the score remained 1-1 after the first.
The Cardinals snuck in a shot from inside the blue line on their second goal, scoring at the 11:12 mark of the second and held the one-goal advantage into the third.
As she’s done all season, Hailey Holland (Sr., Aberdeen. S.D.) came through in a big way, netting the equalizer at the 7:02 mark on a power play. The goal was Holland’s team-leading 20th of the season with Kayla Vrieze (Sr., Eagan) and Brooke Power (Jr., Lakeville) assisting on the play.
In the final minute of regulation, McCoy came up with a pair of impressive saves, sending the game to overtime.
The Gusties continued to hold the edge in shots throughout the first overtime but couldn’t find the back of the net and after 80 minutes the game was sent to a second overtime tied 2-2.
Nearly seven minutes into the second overtime, Coltvet made a selfless drop pass to Lily Mortenson (Fy., Champlin) who slapped in the sudden-death goal from the left circle. The goal was Mortenson’s 12th of season, the most by a Gustie rookie this season.
The Gusties outshot the Cardinals 47-37 while McCoy was tested numerous times and came up big in pressure situations, finishing the game with 35 saves in nearly 87 minutes between the pipes.
Gustavus, now 26-3 overall, will face the winner of Amherst and Hamilton at 2 p.m. Eastern Sunday for the national championship. The Gusties are seeking their first national title after falling to Middlebury 3-2 in overtime in last year’s national championship.