St. Paul, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team defeated St. Catherine University by the final score of 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Drake Arena thanks in large part to three second-period goals.
The Wildcats scored late in the third period, but it was too little, too late, as the Gusties walked away with the win. With this afternoon’s result, Gustavus improves to 14-5-2 overall and 12-2-0 in the MIAC, while St. Catherine drops to 10-9-1 overall and 7-6-1 in league play.
In an evenly played first period, Gustavus held a narrow shot advantage of 8-7 as the two teams skated to a scoreless tie at the first intermission. Each team was 0 for 1 on the power play in the frame as well.
Leah Johnson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) finally broke the seal on the scoreboard when she scored 3:19 into the second period. Johnson’s second goal of the season put her team on top 1-0 after an assist from Courtney Boucher (Jr., Hastings, Minn.).
Nearly six and a half minutes later, Emily Reibert (So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) added to Gustavus’s lead when she scored unassisted at the 9:36 mark. For Reibert, it was her third goal of the year.
Maddie Bergh (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) capped off the three-goal period with her third goal of the season at the 16:49 mark. Like Reibert’s, Bergh’s goal was unassisted, giving the Gusties a 3-0 lead heading to the second intermission.
The big second period was largely a by-product of a 14-1 shot advantage in the frame. Although Gustavus was held scoreless and registered just one shot on those two power plays, the Gusties killed off three penalties and did not allow a shot on those opportunities for St. Catherine.
Jordan Solheim put the Wildcats on the scoreboard 14:11 into the third period to cut the lead to 3-1, but it was as close as they would come in the two-goal loss.
For the game, Gustavus outshot St. Catherine 32-13. Each team went scoreless on five power play chances and recorded three shots.
In net, Lindsey Hibbard (So., Princeton, Minn.) recorded the win for Gustavus after allowing one goal and making 12 saves. Alex Hall gave up all three goals and suffered the loss in a 29-save effort.
Gustavus will be back in action next weekend when it takes on the University of St. Thomas in a crucial MIAC series. The two teams will square off on Friday night in St. Peter at 7:00 p.m., before traveling to Mendota Heights on Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 p.m., start.