SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s hockey team welcomes Concordia-Wisconsin and No. 7 UW-Eau Claire to Don Roberts Ice Rink for its home opening weekend. The 1-0 Gusties face Concordia at 7 p.m. Saturday and then take on Eau Claire at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons enter the weekend 0-2 while the Blugolds are 2-0.
FRIDAY: LIVE STATS
SATURDAY: LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
The Series: Friday night’s game marks the fourth meeting between Gustavus and Concordia-Wis. with the Gusties leading the all-time series 3-0. The last meeting between to two teams was Nov. 4, 2011 as the Gusties claimed a 7-1 victory.
Saturday’s game marks the eighth meeting between Gustavus and UW-Eau Claire with the Gusties holding a 4-1-2 advantage in the all-time series. Last season the Gusties and Blugolds skated to a 2-2 tie on Nov. 3 in Eau Claire, Wis. Kristina Press and Laine Fischer scored the Gustie goals, while Kelly Knetter and Courtney Wittig tallied the Blugold scores.
Last time out: The Gusties started their season with a 2-1 win at St. Scholastica last Friday night.
After a scoreless first period that saw the Gusties win the shot-count 19-1, Kristina Press (So., Cottage Grove) found the back of the net 8:39 into the second. Molly McHugh (Fy., Minnetonka) notched her first career point with the assist. Less than a minute later, Clara Billings (Fy., Rochester) kept the Gustie momentum going with her first career score on a power play with the help of McHugh and Lilia Scheid (So., Stillwater).
Gustavus carried the two-goal advantage late into the third period before the Saints cut the lead in half with 2:28 remaining in regulation. The Gustie defense fended off a couple shots in the waning moments to secure the victory.
Emilia Helms-Leslie (So., Fairbanks, Alaska) made 10 saves to earn her first collegiate victory in Black and Gold.
Gustavus held possession in the offensive zone for a majority of the game, outshooting Scholastica 35-11. The Gusties went 1-for-5 on the power play and killed off two skater-advantages for the Saints.
Scouting the Falcons: Concordia-Wisconsin started its season last weekend and got swept in a two-game series against UW-Superior, losing 3-1 on Friday before dropping a 5-1 decision on Saturday. Emily Reimche scored a goal and an assist over the weekend to lead the offense. Emily Godwin scored the other goal, while Madi Chapman and Kaytlin Johnson added assists. Breanna Thompson played all 120 minutes in net, allowing eight goals and making 73 saves.
Scouting the Blugolds: No. 7-ranked UW-Eau Claire swept St. Norbert 3-1 and 7-0 last Friday and Saturday to start its season 2-0. Emma Peterson and Hallie Sheridan both scored four points in the series with two goals and two assists apiece. Abby Roeser and Hanna Zavoral added two goals and one assist each. Erin Connolly started in net Friday, allowing one goal with 12 saves. Kylah Krause then played Saturday with a shutout, making 14 saves.