The Gustavus women’s hockey team suffered a 4-0 loss to No. 2 ranked St. Thomas this past weekend at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, MN.

Both sides played even through the first period until St. Thomas struck at the 16:48 mark, making the game 1-0.

Following the goal, the Gusties and Tommies played scoreless through the second period, until the Tommies struck again at the 2:40 mark in the third period.

Shortly after they made it 2-0, they capitalized on a Gustavus penalty, scoring a power play goal and extending the lead to 3-0.

Less than a minute later, St. Thomas scored the final goal of the contest at the 9:13 mark in the third period.

The Gusties outshot their opponent 20-10 in the first two periods but were unable to find the back of the net. The Tommies had a surge in the final period, recording 16 shots to the home side’s three. The Gusties also had two penalties in the final period, allowing for the Tommies to gain steam and put the game away.

Senior goalie Amanda DiNella recorded 21 saves, allowing four goals in the loss.

Junior captain Amelia Vosen was very positive when asked about her thoughts on the season, and expectations for next year.

“We definitely had our ups and downs this season. We ended fourth in the regular season conference standings, we got four sweeps throughout the year, and also tied a lot more than usual,” Vosen said. “A lot of teams gave us a challenge, but that is usually expected in the MIAC. I believe we had a target on our back from the way we ended last season, but that made the season more fun.”

Despite the loss to the Tommies this past weekend, the women’s hockey team had four Gusties named to the All-Conference team on Monday afternoon. First-year Kayla Vrieze, Junior Amelia Vosen, and Seniors Allie Stranger and Amanda DiNella all earned All-MIAC recognition for their performances throughout the 2018-2019 season.

Vrieze was named to the MIAC All-Rookie Team this season after her performances on both ends of the ice. Not only did she show her strengths on defense by helping allow the second fewest goals in the MIAC (38), Vrieze was also an attacking threat for the Gusties. She tallied five goals and nine assists on the season, totaling up to 14 points.

Vosen earned her first appearance on the All-Conference team this year. She had career highs in both assists (7) and points (18), with her 11 goals this year tying her season high from last season. The junior captain was also a key component in the dying moments of the games, as she had four game winning goals this season, tied for most in the conference.

Along with her personal efforts, Vosen gave a lot of credit to the newcomers on the team that helped them be competitive throughout the season.

“We had a young team, 13 freshmen total, and we relied on many of them to play a lot of minutes in every game. I think they all took the pressure pretty well and contributed to our team. As a team overall, we had a lot of success this season although our season ended short,” Vosen said. “I’m very proud of everyone and everything that was accomplished.”

Stranger also earned her first All-Conference recognition in her final year in the black and gold, leading the team in points this season with 24. She also had the teams highest plus/minus at +21.

Stranger had 12 goals on the season (tied for seventh most in the conference) and 12 assists (tied for 12th). Her 24 points position her eighth in MIAC rankings for total points this season.

DiNella, a veteran on the team, earned her third consecutive All-Conference honor after starting in 25 games for the Gusties. She accumulated 528 saves on the season while allowing only 38 goals. Her save percentage of .933 ranks second in the conference. Dinella holds the program record for total saves with 1,722 in her career, as well as having the second most career shutouts in program history (19).

Other individual honors will be released in the coming weeks as well, as the Gusties look to get All-American honors. Veteran goalie DiNella will be looking to write her name in Gustavus women’s hockey history as she goes for her third consecutive All-American West First Team honor.

“For the next season, I think we can improve on our consistency in games. I think this would make us a big threat for our competitors because when we are on our game, we can be a dangerous team. Again, we are going to have a very young team next year, so it’ll be important to get everyone working towards the same goal from the very beginning, and I believe that goal is to go to nationals and win it all.”

The Gusties finished the season with an overall record of 16-6-5 and await the bracket release to see if they receive an at-large bid to enter the 2019 DIII Women’s Hockey Championship tournament.