Teddy Kaste-
Gustavus’ Men’s Hockey team took on St. Olaf in a home and home this weekend, with Senior night on Friday night at the Don Robert’s ice arena. Four Gustavus Seniors –Goalie Jackson Hellje, Center Micha Gernander, and Defensemen Thomas Patterer and Porter Haney–, stepped onto the ice at the Don Roberts arena for the final time. In addition to it being their final game, it was also the final home game for coach Brett Petersen, so emotions were aplenty in the Don.
The first period was a slugfest, with both teams struggling to gain any type of advantage over one another. Gustavus had two power play opportunities early but failed to score a goal on either chance. However, when given a third power play opportunity late in the first, Sophomore Hunter Newhouse rifled a shot past the Olaf goalie into the back of the net to make the score 1-0. The Oles fired 7 shots at Hellje, but he sent them all away. At the end of the first period, the score sat Gustavus: 1, St. Olaf: 0
The Oles fought back in the second period, drawing two power play opportunities and spending a lot of time in the Gustavus zone. They sent shot after shot at Hellje, but they simply could not push one past the netminder. Glove saves, pad saves, off-the-mask saves, diving saves, Hellje reached deep into his bag of tricks acquired across a lifetime of defending the net to send away the Oles shots. Then, following a sustained period of pressure from St. Olaf, Gustavus got a rush, and Sophomore Mason Hendrickson buried it top cheddar to make the score Gustavus: 2, St. Olaf: 0. The period ended shortly after that.
Gustavus came out of the locker room for the third period holding a 2-goal lead looking to secure the victory for their seniors and their coach. The period was a back-and-forth battle, but Gustavus continued to shut down the Oles through their stellar defense and goal-tending. At around the 10-minute mark in the third period, an Ole rifled a shot off the crossbar, the loud dinging rang throughout the Don, but the puck did not find the back of the net.
After this scare, Hellje knew the shutout was drawing near as he locked in for numerous more saves throughout the period. With 5:30 left in the game, Gustavus seemed to be drawing nearer and nearer to victory, when Haney found himself with the puck in front of the St. Olaf goaltender. Haney, having been a defenseman his entire collegiate career, had not scored a goal up until this moment. He blew the shot right past the St. Olaf goaltender, sent the Don into an absolute frenzy, and put the game away for the Gusties. Haney seized his moment and was basking in glory on his senior night.
Haney said of his goal “ It was really special to be able to score on senior night and will be something I will never forget. We played really well as a team and it was a great way to end our time here at Gustavus.” When asked what he will miss the most about Gustavus Hockey, he said “I will miss showing up to the rink each day with the guys. No matter what’s going on outside of the rink it is always fun to play with this group of guys.”
With 4 minutes left to go in the game, it felt like Gustavus was sure to win. St Olaf in a last-ditch effort to get back in the game pulled their goalie to get an extra attacker on offense. Following a couple more saves from Hellje, it was Gernander who ended up scoring the empty net goal and put a stamp on the victory for Gustavus. As the clock hit zeros, Hellje had officially completed a shutout in his final career game, and Gustavus secured the victory with a final score of 4-0.
Hellje said about the game, “There’s always that extra motivation within the team for the seniors’ last home game ever. Everyone wants to do their part to send them off the right way. I truly could not have asked for a better outcome on senior night. Getting that shutout meant a lot to me, and it was a really special moment. To top it off, we had two seniors score in the game, making it that more special. You couldn’t write it any better. It is something us seniors will remember forever.
“What I will miss most about Gustavus hockey is my teammates and the memories we have created together. Each season we have a good group of guys, but this year was different. I’ve never been a part of a team that was so close with one another. It was special to be a part of.”
It was a Senior night to remember for Gustavus Men’s Hockey and for coach Petersen who left college hockey on a high note. There are no guarantees that your final game will go your way, but Petersen and the Seniors walked out of the Don Robert’s ice arena for the final time with their heads held high, victorious.