BLAINE, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team dropped its season opener Friday 5-2 to Saint John’s at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Showcase. The Gusties and Johnnies were tied 2-2 at the second intermission, but a pair of even-strength goals in the third period followed by a late power play goal led to the lopsided defeat.
Saint John’s struck first in the opening frame with a power play goal at the 6:58 mark. Colin Hernon (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.) had an answer for Gustavus with 3:31 remaining in the period with his first goal of the season, assisted by Garrett Elmore (Fy., Brentwood, Tenn.) and Jake Bushey (Jr., Duluth, Minn.). After the first period, the score was tied 1-1 with the Gusties leading in shots 11-9.
Evan Erickson (So., Woodbury, Minn.) gave the Black and Gold the lead 6:34 into the second on a power play goal, assisted by Van Sullivan (So., Brentwood, Tenn.) and Bushey. Nearly five minutes later, the Johnnies netted the equalizer on a power play score of their own. Neither team could find the back of the net for the remainder of the period and went into the second intermission tied 2-2. The Gusties increased their shot advantage to 24-18 after 40 minutes of play.
The third period was all Saint John’s, though, as it scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 9:18 mark. The Johnnies added an insurance goal 1:41 later and then tacked on a power play goal with 0:31 remaining in the game.
Gustavus outshot Saint John’s 43-27, but the Johnnie goalie was up to the task with 41 saves. Chris Amsden (So., St. Peter, Minn.) got the start in goal for the Gusties and suffered the loss after recording 22 saves.
Gustavus went 1-for-4 on the power play with 18 total shots in the man advantage, while the Johnnies went 3-for-4 with nine shots. Saint John’s won the battle on the dots, taking 36-of-66 faceoffs.
The Gusties conclude play at the MIAC Showcase at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow against St. Olaf. All games at the Showcase are counted as non-conference.