Parker Burman – Staff Writer
The Gustavus Women’s Hockey team returned to campus on Monday as National Champions. After long and hard-fought games out east, the Gusties prevailed and proved that they were the best team in the nation. It took nearly six thrilling periods of hockey in the final against Amherst to complete the 2-1 victory to secure the Gusties’ first-ever National Championship.
With a run time of 101:33, the game now enters the record books as the longest title game in NCAA DIII hockey history and the first to ever go past one overtime. The game is also a Gustavus record, breaking the previous record of 101:02 in the 2018 NCAA tournament. The Gustie victory marks the first NCAA title for a women’s MIAC hockey team and the first for any team in the Western region.
Gustavus started the game with plenty of chances to score with First-year Lily Mortenson ripping a shot just two minutes into the game, with the rebound finding Senior Clara Billings’s stick for a near goal. Junior Brooke Power had a similar high-intensity chance a few minutes later with a 2-on-1 opportunity that Amherst’s goalie denied. The Gusties had accumulated six shots in the first ten minutes of the game, preventing Amherst from attempting a shot on Senior goalie Katie McCoy until they gave Amherst two power plays in the second half of the period.
Amherst Goalie Natalie Stott had played her way to five straight shutout games for 361:36 of scoreless hockey until the second period of the title game. At 14:46 Mortenson, who was the hero in the semi-final match against Plattsburgh, found the back of the net again for the 1-0 lead. Senior defenseman Gabby Sylkas stretched out to keep the puck in the offensive zone before sending a pass to Mortenson who buried it into the net.
“That moment was amazing. I did my part as the D in that situation and kept the puck in and it landed perfectly on Lily’s stick and she finished the job. Couldn’t have trusted anyone more in that situation to get the job done,” Slykas said.
“It was a really cool feeling, especially scoring the game-winning goal in the semi-final. But to score in the national championship was a whole different feeling,” Mortenson said.
Entering the third period, the Gusties just had to maintain their 1-0 lead for 20 more minutes to secure a national championship. McCoy was peppered with shots throughout the periods, but the Gusties returned the favor to Stott on the other end of the ice. With 1:49 remaining on the clock Amherst pulled their goalie for the 6-on-5 man advantage in a final push to score. The 6-on-5 proved successful as a shot from an Amherst defenseman was tipped successfully short-side to slip under McCoy’s blocker with 1:12 left in regulation of the period.
With the end of the third period, the game turned into a marathon for the ages, becoming an instant classic. Gustavus controlled the overtime periods, outshooting Amherst 31-12 and controlling the puck in the offensive zone for large portions of each period. Seniors Hailey Holland and Tina Press combined for several chances across all three overtime periods. The older of the two Holland sisters, Hailey, tried her best to put the game away with five shots in overtime.
However, it would be the younger Holland sister, Sophomore Kaitlyn Holland, who put the game away for the Gusties. With the puck on her stick, Mortenson sent a shot wide that was saved by Stott with the puck finding the stick of Billings. Billings sent it to the right post, where Kaitlyn Holland forced in the puck for the game-winner at 1:33.
“Everyone dreams of being at the top and for us, this was that, so it is just something that hasn’t really sunk in yet that we actually did it. My sister has always been my number one fan so it felt great having her on the ice and also my whole team is full of my best friends so not only got to do it with my sister but also my best friends,” Hailey Holland said.
In over 100 minutes of gameplay, Hailey Holland led the team with 11 shots on goal, leading to 59 on the net for the Gusties, a season-high. McCoy, who nearly had the shutout, saved 33 of 34 shots and was instrumental in keeping the Gusties in the game. Her performance in the title game and throughout the NCAA Tournament led to McCoy being named NCAA Tournament MVP. “I kept focused on my ‘why’ and told myself that I would do anything to keep the puck out of the net for my team. I knew that they would score. I just had to buy them time,” McCoy said.
Coach Mike Carroll received the traditional victory ice bath after securing his first national championship, in his 492nd career win in his 24th year at the helm of the Gustavus Women’s Hockey team. “It was awfully cold, but a great feeling. I tried to get off the ice ‘cause I saw them coming and almost made it, then got to the end and thought well what the heck. They’re making the effort to do that so I might as well soak it up,” Coach Carroll said.
For all of the Seniors on the team who have spent the last four plus years chasing that elusive national championship, this is a dream come true. Fifth-years Press, Sylkas, and Kayla Vrieze
all finished their Gustavus careers in the best way possible. The three of them combined for 184 career points, 121 of which belong to Press, in 121 games, who finishes her career eighth all-time in Gustavus women’s points.
“All I gotta say is what better way to go out? To leave GAC as a National Champion is unreal. It is something I will never forget, especially since it was a huge milestone for multiple reasons. I am so happy my teammates and I were able to get it done, can not ask for a better way to end my college hockey playing career,” Sylkas said.
“I couldn’t have dreamed for anything different. Only one team gets to end their season on a win so I’m extremely grateful that it was us. Obviously, that was my last hockey game but the sadness is overshadowed by the joy of being a national champion,” Vrieze said.