ST. PETER, Minn. – It was déjà vu for the Gustavus men’s hockey team as it watched a third period lead fade away, forcing an overtime with St. Olaf on Saturday night and ending with another shootout loss. The 3-3 tie with St. Olaf moves the Gusties to 3-10-4 overall and 2-4-2 in the MIAC, along with one point in the league standings.
After eight minutes of scoreless hockey to start the game, the Oles got on the board at the 8:25 mark on a goal from David Rath. The Gusties caught St. Olaf off-guard, though, as they won the ensuing draw, moved into the Oles zone, and netted the equalizer 11 seconds later. Colin Hernon (So., Bloomington, Minn.) tallied his team-leading fifth goal on assists from Sam Majka (Jr., Wayzata, Minn.) and Van Sullivan (Fy., Brentwood, Tenn.).
In the second period, St. Olaf gained a 2-1 advantage with a power play goal and held on to the lead into the second intermission.
At the 3:33 mark in the third period, Mason Wyman (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) scored his first career goal, and an important one at that, as he tied the game on assists from Gavin Tufte (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) and Drew Aspinwall (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.). Not even two minutes later, Darren Lapic (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) scored the goal-ahead goal on a deflection from the point. Evan Erickson (Fy., Woodbury, Minn.) and Aspinwall were credited with the assists. But with 5:31 remaining in regulation, the Oles tied it back up, leading to the overtime period.
Neither team scored in the extra period, sending the game to a shootout for the second time in as many nights. Majka gave the Gusties a 1-0 lead after the first round of the shootout, but St. Olaf responded in round two and netted the winning shot in the fifth round.
Chris Amsden (Fy., St. Peter, Minn.) got the start between the pipes and he responded with 23 saves. The Gusties posted a season-high 44 shots on goal, but St. Olaf goalie Eric Hancock was on his game, making 41 saves.
Gustavus continues play at Don Roberts Ice Rink next weekend with a home-home series against Concordia College.