ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team allowed four power play goals during the home opener Saturday evening at Don Roberts Ice Rink as St. Olaf College defeated the Gusties 6-2 to salvage a series split.
St. Olaf went 4-for-7 on the man advantage, led by a hat-trick performance all on the power play from Chris Koziel to hand the Gusties their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss of the season, dropping their record to 1-2-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Koziel gave the Oles the first lead of the game near the end of the first period on their first power play chance, parked in front of the net for an open look. The two teams entered with first intermission with St. Olaf leading 1-0 and leading 12-10 in shots on goal.
The Gusties and the Oles went back and forth in the second period as the lamp was lit five times. Koziel opened the scoring with his second goal, this one on the backhand as he was found open in the slot again.
For the fourth-straight game, a Gustie first-year notched his first goal in Black and Gold, as Tyler Rock (Savage, Minn.) put Gustavus on the board in the second period and cut the Ole lead to 2-1. Rock was in the right place at the right time after a Colin Hernon (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) wrap around attempt deflected of Rock for the goal.
St. Olaf followed up Rock’s goal with another power play goal as Koziel completed his hat-trick with just under five minutes remaining in the second frame. The two teams then traded goals to close out the period. Captain Tim Donohue (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season, finishing off a nice play from JP Eykyn (Fy., Waseca, Minn.) on the doorstep to cut the lead within one again.
Two more Ole goals in the third period proved to be the dagger, with St. Olaf finishing the game with a 33-31 shots on goal advantage.
Chris Amsden (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) suffered the loss between the pipes, his second of the season while tallying 27 saves.
Gustavus returns to Don Roberts Ice Rink next weekend, hosting two home games. The Gusties will face the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Friday and Wisconsin-Stout on Saturday.