Staff Writer- Alayna Boe
Opening their season with a tough game, the Gustavus Adolphus Men’s Hockey team has started their season in full swing. Facing off against the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets on Friday night and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons on Saturday, the Gusties faced some hard competition. Both games were extremely close, but the Gusties fell in defeat during both of them. Against No. 12 Superior, Gustavus lost 4-3. Against the Falcons, Gustavus fell once again, but this time in an overtime loss. While neither game ended the way the Gusties wanted, their season is still in its early days, so these games are not defining in any means.
Friday, November 7th, was the season and home opener for the Golden Gusties, so the energy was high. With 321 people in attendance, Don Roberts Ice Rink was electric. The game did not last long at 0-0 because the Yellowjackets scored within three minutes of the puck drop. The rest of the period was hard fought, but by the end, the Gusties were down 2-0. First-Year Jayar Luedke scored the first goal of the season and his first collegiate goal within three minutes of the second period. Luedke stated, “The feeling was amazing to be able to capitalize on the opportunity my teammate gave me, and to do it at home in front of an awesome crowd was unreal.” This gave the Gusties a boost, but Superior answered back 21 seconds later, putting them up 3-1. The final goal of the second period was scored by First-Year Charlie Sandven. At the end of the second, the game was close with the Yellowjackets leading 3-2.
The third period was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams for over half. Superior broke through this exchange and scored a power play goal in the 15th minute. However, that was not the last goal of the game, and Junior Grant Ellings scored with three minutes on the clock. As the final whistle blew, the Gusties fell to UW-Superior 4-3, but did not go without a fight. Even with a tough loss, the team’s atmosphere has not changed. “We’ve gone down a couple games, but I think we definitely have the ability to win. Sometimes the hockey gods say otherwise, but we have a positive morale,” Luedke said.
While Superior was a hard-fought game that did not end in the Gusties’ favor, their weekend was not yet over. On Saturday night, the Gusties faced UW-River Falls at home. Coming off a tough loss, Gustavus wanted to prove themselves, but unfortunately did not get that opportunity. Going into overtime, this game was a tough and close matchup and sadly ended in the Falcons’ favor. A 3-2 overtime loss was what met Gustavus on Saturday night.
Falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Gusties were hungry for a goal. Halfway through the first, River Falls got on the board due to a puck race. Even though they were down, the fight of the Golden Gusties did not falter. The second period was scoreless, but Gustavus put endless shots on goal. Finally, in the third period, Gustavus had a breakthrough and put two unanswered goals on the board. This 2-1 lead lasted for about four minutes until the Falcons tied it up with 8:32 remaining. The tie lasted until the end of the third, so 3-on-3 overtime was to commence.
3-on-3 overtime seems faster than the rest of the game since the ice is so open. This allows for more passes and working the puck even more in hopes of scoring. Not having four extra bodies on the ice can be a blessing and a curse, but after the initial adjustment, it is just hockey again. With 1:46 left in OT, the Falcons scored a high pocket shot from the left side. This ended the game with a final score of 3-2 in favor of the Falcons.
Starting the season 0-2 is not what any team wants, but the season is young and far from over. Energy and morale are still high for this team and for good reason. Coming off a MIAC championship season, the men’s hockey team is looking for more. “I wanna repeat that [MIAC championship] and go even further and win a national championship,” Luedke says. The road to the chip is still long, and the Gusties will have ample time to flip their record and achieve great things this season. Go Gusties!