Luke Siegle – Staff Writer

This past weekend the Gustavus Women’s Hockey faced off against Augsburg in a home and home series. The first game took place at Don Roberts Ice Rink and the Gusties made quick work of the Auggies, dismantling them 6-0. Game two proved to be much more of a test for the team as they traveled up to St. Paul and left with a 4-4 tie.
Game one opened up with a flurry of shots by the Gusties in the first period, but none of them could find the net. When the horn sounded after one, the Gusties had 13 shots on goal compared to zero for Augsburg. That changed in the second as the team scored five goals to take the commanding lead. Junior Molly McHugh netted her sixth of the season on the power play to open the scoring 4:26 seconds in. Then it was Senior Kayla Vrieze who put the Gusties up 2-0 7:46 into the period. About a minute later the lead was three as First-year Kaitlyn Holland put in her eighth goal of the year. Next, Junior Hailey Holland, who added on a fourth goal less than a minute later.
To give the Gusties the five-goal lead was Hailey Holland again who found the back of the net 11:15 into the second. The two goals by Holland gave her nine of the season. In the third, First-year Rachel Wieland scored an unassisted goal at the 8:02 mark to put the finishing touches on the 6-0 victory. In net, Katie McCoy recorded her 15th win and eighth shut-out which leads all other goalies in the NCAA. “I’m just staying focused on the game even when I’m not playing and I have amazing support. The D (defense) don’t allow many shots at all. Just an amazing support system.” Mccoy said after the win.
Game two proved to be much tougher for the Gusties as they gained a three-goal advantage but then lost it as the Auggies scored four unanswered goals in the second to take the 4-3 lead. “We just came out thinking we would blow them away again and we were too confident. They also put up a much better game themselves too which gave us more of a challenge.” McCoy said. However, a late goal in the second by the Gusties tied it up 4-4 and that is where the game ultimately ended up staying.
Junior Emily Olson put the team on her back early as she scored the first three goals for the Gusties to put them up 3-0. Olson scored 2:35 into the first and then at the 1:19 and 3:22 marks in the second to earn her hat trick. Teammates Gabby Skylas, Brooke Power, Sophia Coltvet and Vrieze each chipped in an assist. After Olson’s goal at the 3:22 mark, it was all Auggies. They scored four goals in the next ten minutes to take the lead. This gave the Gusties a situation that they haven’t faced a lot this year, a deficit. However, they responded calmly as Sophomore Brooke Power netted a short-handed goal in the closing minute of the second period to knot up the score.
It remained tied after three which led to overtime. After five minutes of overtime, the score was still locked at four apiece. The game moved to a shootout and Senior captain Tina Press answered the call as she scored the only shootout goal to give the Gusties the extra point. “To get two of three points in conference is nice, but definitely a tough feeling knowing we didn’t play our best hockey and come out with the win which we knew we should have,”, Press said.
Even with the tie, it was another productive weekend for the Gusties as they snagged five out of six points to continue their dominance within the MIAC. The win and tie brought their MIAC record to 10-0-2. The Gusties have some tough games ahead as they complete the regular season against Hamline and St. Scholastica who are the number two and three teams in the conference respectively. “The goal is to stay focused and play as hard as we can for as long as we can,” McCoy said. You can catch the Gusties in action this weekend as they play Hamline in St. Paul at 7 p.m. Friday night and then at home at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Saturday at 2 p.m.