Staff Writer- Nathan Swanson
The Gustavus Men’s hockey team played the Augsburg Auggies in a two-game series over the weekend. The first game on Friday, Dec. 5th, was played on the road in Minneapolis, and the second game on Saturday, Dec. 6th, was played at Gustavus in the Lund Arena. Friday’s victory came with an exciting overtime game-winning goal from First-year forward Emil Samuelsson. Saturday’s game saw a 4-1 Gustavus victory in which the Gusties scored 3 times on the power play. The two wins against Augsburg this last weekend set the Gusties up at 4-2 in conference play. “If we stick to our structure, we can compete with anyone,” Senior Forward Wilmer Svensson said.
On Friday against Augsburg, the Gusties scored early in the game with an even-strength goal from First-year defenseman Ludvig Mellgren. His goal was assisted by Junior defenseman Jack Anderson and Svensson. Five minutes into the second, Anderson added to Gustavus’s lead with a goal, making it 2-0 Gusties. The goal by Anderson was assisted by First-year Ludvig Mellgren and Svensson. In the back end of the second period, Gustavus would be called for a 2-minute cross-checking penalty. This would set up Augsburg on the power play, and they capitalized with their first goal of the game. The goal came from Augsburg’s forward Connor Schneider. Quickly following the goal from Schneider, Gustavus would get called for two more penalties: 2 minutes for a hit from behind, and 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Within a few minutes of the start of the power play, Augsburg would score, tying the game up with a goal from their forward Nolan Nenow. Halfway through the third period, Svensson scored for the Gusties, putting them up a goal and making it 3-2. His even-strength goal was assisted by Sophomore forward Nick Blood. The Gusties continued on with their point advantage until Augsburg scored late in the final minute of the game, pulling their goalie and adding an extra attacker. The Auggies’ tying goal came from their forward Peyton Hanson, leading to overtime to decide a winner. As the overtime period began, Gustavus would get 3 shots on goal, and then with just 29 seconds left, Samuelsson scored the overtime game-winning goal. His goal was assisted by Anderson and Junior forward Grant Ellings. After the thrilling win for Gustavus, they would head back to campus, looking to win out on Saturday in their second game against the Auggies.
Through Saturday’s first half of the first period, the game would remain equal until 11 minutes in when Svensson scored a Gustavus power-play goal. The goal from Svensson was assisted by First-year forward Kyle Doll and Junior Drew Holt. Svensson discussed the growth of the power play as the season has progressed. “Our power play has been getting better as a group. We’re more confident and starting to really understand where everyone is on the ice,” Svensson commented. While the Gusties had a few chances to add another goal to their lead with power-play opportunities, the score would remain 1-0 as both teams headed into the third period. Through 5 minutes of the third period, Augsburg would score its first goal of the game. The goal was scored by their First-year forward Nolan Nenow. Just 95 seconds after Nenow of Augsburg scored, Gustavus answered back with a goal from Junior defenseman Jackson McCarthy. The game-winning goal by McCarthy for the Gusties was assisted by forwards Ellings and Holt. Augsburg would get called for a 5-minute boarding penalty 15 minutes into the third period, which helped give more power-play opportunities for Gustavus. With 80 seconds remaining in the game, Gustavus would add to the lead as Junior forward Hunter Newhouse scored on the power play. His goal was assisted by defenseman Mellgren and Holt. As the clock hit the final minute, another goal on the power play was added for the Gusties as forward Samuelsson put one in the back of the net and helped to secure the victory.
With well-earned victories on both Friday and Saturday, the Gustavus Men’s hockey team had plenty to be happy about, finishing the weekend series with a sweep. The execution and strength used against Augsburg is something they can rely on moving forward as they play other opponents. “It’s always hard to sweep a team and win two nights in a row, but playing at home gave us confidence that we could finish the job. Getting another MIAC win puts us in a good spot and shows we’re trending in the right direction,” Svensson said. Gustavus on Saturday outscored Augsburg in shots, shooting 39 shots, while Augsburg had 25 shots. Comparing faceoffs won, Gustavus had 45 faceoffs won, while Augsburg had 30 faceoffs won. Gustavus’s Sophomore goalie Colin Androlewicz saved a total of 24 shots in the win against the Auggies Saturday. Looking ahead, the Gustavus Men’s hockey team will play the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons in a non-conference home series. The series will begin on Saturday, Dec. 15th at 7:00 p.m.