March has finally arrived, giving us a chance to dream of shorts and shades. The spring thaw brings spring sports into focus, and many elements of winter are gratefully left behind. Unfortunately for many, spring will have to wait while we continue to endure the deep freeze our world remains beneath.
However, members of the Gustavus Women’s Hockey team hope to keep the ice around for a few more weeks as they skate their way through the playoffs.
The Gustie women finished the season as MIAC regular season champions with a 19-3-3 overall record. Gustavus opened the playoffs as the number one seed on Thursday at home against Concordia, a game that certainly won’t be their last.
“The MIAC was extremely competitive this year, so all [the] teams left standing are very good,” Junior Captain Mollie Carroll said. “The playoffs will be a battle, and every team has the potential to knock others out.”
This weekend determines who will be crowned champions of the MIAC playoffs, but Gustavus has its eye on something more than simply another conference championship. Regardless of the result this weekend, Gustavus expects to be returning to the national tournament, a place it has been each of the last eight years.
“Winning the MIAC is a great accomplishment, but we still have many other goals left to accomplish this year,” Carroll said. “I think we would like to prove that we are not only the best team in the west, but also in the nation.”
Claiming these two titles will be a tough task, but the Gusties will find out soon enough if they are capable of accomplishing the feat. If the national tournament began today, they would challenge UW-River Falls for the regional title in the first round of the tournament.
River Falls is currently undefeated and ranked number one in the nation, but a history of competition with Gustavus affords the two squads the comfort of familiarity and knowledge of what a win will require.
“We definitely have the power and speed to beat [River Falls],” Junior goaltender Danielle Justice said.“I think the major determinant will be who comes out to play and is able to get past the other team’s defense.”
Gustavus is fortunate to have Justice, who has been a wall in goal that stymies even the most threatening offensive attacks. Justice has statistically been one of the best goalies in the MIAC and currently ranks first in goals against average, giving up only 1.03 goals per game.
Therefore, it will be up to Gustavus’s offense to outscore the nation’s best, which is something they have accomplished since losing to River Falls in December, their only matchup of the year. Since the loss to UWRF, Gustavus has dropped only one of the succeeding 16 games.
“Having our last loss over a month ago shows that we are peaking at the right time,” Justice said. The season hasn’t been perfect, but consistency and grit has put Gustavus in the position it is in today.
“We have been put in tight situations,” Junior forward Allie Schwab said. “[However], our team has never refused a challenge.”
Gustavus is currently ranked seventh in the nation, priming for a chance to match last year’s success with a return to the Frozen Four. Yet, the road to another national semifinal will be the toughest in recent memory and will run through the top team in the nation, a challenge that does not scare the Gustie women.
Although it is River Falls who should be fearful as the Gusties hope to blow through the competition like they have the past month, or the past 8 years for that matter.
“We ended [River Falls’s] season last year,” Carroll said. “I’m sure they will be coming at us full force.”
The Gustavus Women’s Hockey team will be ready for the challenge having thrived in a St. Peter-sized deep freeze since the beginning of the season. The Gusties will have ice in their veins and a Frozen Four in mind, hoping to accomplish one more thing before the spring thaw.