MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against Augsburg College on Friday night, moving to 2-1-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the MIAC.
Nearly 12 minutes into the game, Allison Eder-Zdechlik (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) scored an unassisted short-handed goal to give the Gusties a 1-0 advantage. “I pressured their defense hard and ended up on a breakaway and beat the goalie glove side,” Eder-Zdechlik said. “I have been really focusing on shooting with a purpose and burying my chances.”
Gustavus led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play and outshot the Auggies 8-5.
Augsburg netted the equalizer at the 13:10 mark in the second period on a power play goal. The Auggies held the advantage in offensive pressure in the second frame, outshooting the Gusties 12-7.
Thirty-three seconds into the third period, the Gusties were called for tripping and the Auggies took advantage of the skater-advantage and scored the go-ahead goal with just 17 seconds remaining in the power play. Gustavus had a rebuttal just over three minutes later on a power play goal of its own. Laura Johnson (So., Chanhassen, Minn.) scored the equalizer on an assist from Kaitlyn Klein (So., Plymouth, Minn.). Neither team was able to score the game-winner, though, and the contest moved to overtime. Both teams fired three shots in the overtime period, but none made it through to the net and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
“The flow of the game was very back and forth,” Eder-Zdechlik said. “We had a lot of opportunities and they did as well. The game was very physical throughout. Penalties on both sides changed the momentum of the game.”
Gustavus finished with 31 shots compared to 27 from Augsburg, while faceoffs were even at 27-27. The Gusties went 2-for-6 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. Amanda DiNella (Fy., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) went the full 65 minutes between the posts and recorded 25 saves.
Gustavus wraps up the series against Augsburg at 2 p.m. Saturday at Don Robert Ice Rink.
“For tomorrow we need to come out and play a full three periods consistently,” Eder-Zdechlik said. “We need to keep our feet moving and use our speed!”