Teddy Kaste-
Gustavus’ Women’s Hockey team is on a roll, beating St. Scholastica 1-0 this past weekend. This is the fifth game in a row they have won, and the excitement was only heightened by the presence of the team’s family members, as it was Parent’s Day at the game. Adding to the anticipation was the reveal of the National Championship Banner at the start of the game and that was their first home game of the season. All of this created anticipation for this game to be a good one, and the team certainly delivered.
Junior Hannah Gray scored the Gusties’ lone goal of the game only 4 minutes and 42 seconds into the first period. However, the lack of goals was not due to a lack of attempts on Gustavus’s part, as they racked up a grand total of 46 shots throughout the game. Fifth-year and Forward Emily Olson led those attempts, with 10 of those being hers.
Fifth-year Katie McCoy was definitely the star of the game. As Goalie, she saved all seven of the shots made on the goal during the game. This includes the stand-out moment of the game as described by Olson, “Hannah Gray dove out in front of the net when the puck came out to a Scholastica girl in the slot after a scrum. She helped protect our lead by diving for it and clearing the puck out of the way.” This led her to her 64th win as a Gustie, setting a new program record for the most wins by a goaltender, passing 2012 alumni Danielle Justice.
Their next game is at home versus Bethel on Friday, Nov. 17th at 7:00 p.m.
Gustavus Men’s Hockey unfortunately suffered a loss this past weekend, also against St. Scholastica. It can’t be said that they didn’t put up a fight, with the final score being 3-4. St. Scholastica remained one step ahead of the Gusties through the whole game, but the Gusties managed to tie it up twice, once 18 minutes into the first period by First-year Grant Ellings and once 11 minutes into the third by First-year Marc Fletemeyer.
But the rest of the third period was their downfall, with St. Scholastica making two goals within two minutes of each other, leaving the Gusties with less than to make up the two-goal difference. Sophomore Wilmer Svensson was able to eke out one more goal with just 12 seconds left, but ultimately they lost the game. Wilmar said, “… we were ready and had a really good first period. If we take away some individual mistakes from that game, we win it”.
Something that definitely isn’t a mistake the Gusties need to work on, is their shots on goal. They outshot St. Scholastica 36-15, with Svensson once again leading with 5. First-year and Goalie Marko Belak also put up a good show, saving 11 of the shots taken by St. Scholastica.
“It is never fun to lose but there was a feeling that we are right there so close to winning and looking back at it, I think it is gonna give us confidence that we can play any team and win.”
The Gustavus Women’s season will be up on Friday, Nov. 17th home against Bethel, and again on Saturday the 18th, away against Bethel, playing the Royals on back-to-back nights. The men play the Royals on Friday and Saturday night as well, except for the men they play at Bethel on Friday and at home on Saturday. Come to the Don Roberts Ice Arena this Friday or Saturday night to see the Gusties take on the Royals.