The Gustavus women’s hockey team jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Jess Harren and Allie Schwab in the first period and then held on for a 2-1 win over St. Olaf on Saturday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter. The Gusties, who are now 3-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in MIAC play, will travel to Northfield to play the Oles tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm.
“We struggled at times tonight, but the team played hard and everybody contributed,” stated head coach Mike Carroll. He added, “It is nice to know that when we aren’t at the top of our game, we can still find a way to win.”
The Gusties got off to a very fast start in the game putting nine consecutive shots on goal before Jess Harren scored off a scramble in front of the net at the 5:57 mark. Melissa Doyle and Allie Schwab were credited with assists. Gustavus pushed the lead to 2-0 in the final minute of the period when Lisa Tuuri’s hustle kept the puck in the St. Olaf zone and Tuuri slid a pass to Schwab in front of the net. Schwab one-timed a shot into the upper right corner at the 19:05 mark and the Gusties led 2-0 after the first period of play.
The Oles cut the lead to 2-1 when Alex Meyer got behind the Gustavus defense and skated in alone on Danielle Justice beating her on the glove side just inside the post at the 6:54 mark of the second period. It was the first goal the Gusties had allowed this season after nearly 147 minutes of play. The second period ended with Gustavus leading 2-1.
The Gusties and Justice shut St. Olaf out in the third period allowing Gustavus to open conference play with a 2-1 victory. The Gusties held a significant 48-16 edge in shots, but St. Olaf goaltender Ptachik and the Ole defense kept the Gusties at bay and allowed the Oles to stay close throughout the match. Ptachik registered 46 shots in goal for St. Olaf, while Justice made 15 saves and improved to 3-0-0 on the season.