SAINT PETER, Minn. – No. 4 Gustavus women’s hockey is set to host the MIAC playoff championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday against No. 10 Augsburg. The Gusties (21-3-2) advanced to the title game with a 4-1 win over Saint Mary’s last Saturday while the Auggies (21-5-0) upset Hamline 2-1 on overtime.
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The Series: Saturday’s game marks the 50th meeting between Gustavus and Augsburg with the Gusties holding a 36-10-3 advantage in the all-time series. This is the first time the two teams will meet in the postseason. In the regular season series on Nov. 22-23, the Gusties won 4-2 on Friday night in Minneapolis, followed by a 1-0 win in Saint Peter on Saturday afternoon.
Gusties in the Playoffs: Last season in the MIAC playoffs, the Gusties defeated Saint Mary’s 5-0 in the quarterfinals before losing to St. Thomas 4-0 in the semifinals. In the 20-year history of the playoff field, Gustavus has posted a record of 30-9-2, while going 26-3-1 at home. Gustavus has won the MIAC playoff championship 11 times with its most recent title in 2013.
Scouting the Gusties: Gustavus advanced to the MIAC championship with a 4-1 win over Saint Mary’s last Saturday. The Gusties are riding an eight-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 30-5 in that span with four shutouts. Special teams and defense are strengths as the Gusties lead the league in power play goals (20), power play percentage (21.5), power play goals against (2), penalty kill percentage (95.0), goals against (25), goals against average (0.96), and save percentage (.946). The Gusties are no slouches on offense either, averaging 3.35 goals and 37.8 shots per game, which both rank second in the league. After scoring a hat trick in the semifinal win over Saint Mary’s, Hailey Holland leads the league with 17 goals. Kristina Press has a team-leading 31 points on 11 goals and 20 assists, which ranks fourth in the conference. Molly McHugh is at the 30-point mark as well with 30 points on 16 goals and 14 assists. Katie McCoy has seen the most time in net with a 1.07 goals against average and .949 save percentage.
Scouting the Auggies: Mikayla Jones sent Augsburg to the MIAC championship with an overtime goal against Hamline last Saturday. The Auggies have won 11 consecutive games and have not lost a conference game since their 1-0 loss to Gustavus on Nov. 23. The Auggies average 3.19 goals (3rd/MIAC), 1.42 goals allowed (2nd/MIAC), and 33.8 shots (3rd/MIAC) per game. On special teams, the Auggies are 13-for-85 on the power play (15.3%) and have killed off 63-of-68 penalties (92.6%). The Augsburg offense is distributed well between a number of players. Katie Flynn, Bridget Wagner, and McKenna Ellena all lead the team with 20 points apiece. Wagner and Jones lead the team with 11 goals each. Abby Bollig got the start in net in the playoff win over Hamline last week. In 14 games played, Bollig has a 1.53 goals against average (5th/MIAC) and a .922 save percentage.