SAINT PETER, Minn. – Gustavus women’s hockey is headed to the MIAC playoff championship game for the 18th time in program history after a decisive 5-0 win over St. Scholastica on Wednesday in the semifinals. The No. 6-ranked Gusties (21-3-2) will host Hamline (15-9-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line.
After a somewhat slow start, the Gusties scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 12:40 mark of the first. Brooke Power (So., Lakeville) buried a chance in front of the net with the help of Emily Olson (Jr., Delano). Six minutes later, Power scored her second goal of the game and MIAC-leading 21st of the season, assisted by Clara Billings (Jr., Rochester) and the Gusties maintained a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
“It was kind of a slow start but that’s a sign of good team when we stuck with it and kept getting stronger and stronger as the game wore on,” Head Coach Mike Carroll said. “We scored the two goals and sort of lost our focus on the defensive responsibilities but we got that back after a nice talk in the locker room.”
Steph Anderson (Sr., Blaine) scored her fifth goal of the season at the 7:14 mark of the second for a 3-0 lead. Heather Olinger (Jr., Prior Lake) and Hannah Gray (Fy., Stillwater) were in on the assist. With 3:47 left in the second, Olson tallied her second point of the night and 13th goal of the season, assisted by Kaitlyn Holland (Fy., Aberdeen, S.D.), and the Gusties held a comfortable 4-0 advantage heading to the third. Gray finished off the scoring 6:11 into the third with her second goal of the season, helped by Sophia Coltvet (So., Arden Hills).
The Gusties outshot the Saints 38-10 as Katie McCoy (Jr., Grafton, Wis.) made all 10 stops, extending the program record for shutouts in a season to 15. Neither team scored on the power play as the Saints went 0-for-3 and the Gusties 0-for-1.
Gustavus and Hamline are set for Saturday’s championship game after splitting the regular season series on Feb. 11 and 12. The Pipers won game one 2-1 in overtime in Saint Paul, followed by a 4-2 Gustie win in Saint Peter.
“We have to control what we can control,” Carroll said. “We’re playing good teams at this time of the year so we just need to move our feet and bury some chances. We had a lot of shots on goal the last time we played them, one day they went in and the other day they didn’t, so we need to be disciplined on all three zones and have a couple good practices.”