Notables
- CSS 3-for-6 on the power-play, Gustavus 0-for-3
- Zane Steeves (Red Deer, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (100 Mile Wranglers-KIJHL)) put together a perfect game in the net, recording 25 saves for his first collegiate shutout
- CSS is now 18-20-1 all-time against Gustavus, winning the last three by three goals each
- First time since 2011 CSS has managed to record two wins against MIAC opponents in a season
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica men's hockey team concluded its back-to-back nights of action against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents by hosting and defeating Gustavus Adolphus College 3-0 Friday night at Mars Lakeview Arena.
The Action
It was a quick turnaround for the Saints, as they had traveled the night before to St. Cloud to take on Saint John's University. The Johnnies came in at an impressive 8-2 record, but the Saints made their mark by dominating SJU 5-1. Much like the Johnnies, Gustavus also came into the matchup against the Saints with an impressive record at 6-3-1. Once again, however, this didn't stop the Saints.
The first period was a rather quiet one, with neither the Saints nor the Gusties managing to find the back of the net. There were plenty of chances, specifically for the Saints, as they earned two power-play opportunities in the period compared to zero for the Gusties. Gustavus goalie Chris Amdsden remained solid between the red pipes, stopping all the shots he faced during the penalty kills.
Not to be outdone, St. Scholastica's
Zane Steeves (Red Deer, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (100 Mile Wranglers-KIJHL)) recorded seven saves himself in the first period to help keep the score at 0-0.
With just under nine minutes having ticked off the clock in the second period the Saints received their third power play of the night. After a boarding call was made against Gustavus it was
Brett Radford (Campbell River, British Columbia/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL)) to break the silence in the 0-0 affair with the first goal of the night. Assisting on the CSS goal was
Kale Derkson (Regina, Saskatchewan/Sheldon Williams Collegiate/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Notre Dame-SJHL)) and
Parker Mismash (Edina, Minn./Edina HS (Minnesota Magicians-NAHL)).
In the final four minutes of the second period, with the Saints still holding a slim 1-0 lead, Gustavus had a chance to tie it up with a power play after a slashing call against CSS. For the second time on the night the CSS penalty kill unit stepped up to the challenge, keeping the Gusties scoreless heading into the third and final period.
It didn't take long for the Saints to break the game open in the third period. After another Gustavus penalty, which was called four minutes into the period,
Nate Pionk (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS (Minot-NAHL)) netted the second goal of the game for the Saints. This time it was
Cole Golka (Ardrossan, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Dryden Ice Dogs-SIJHL)) and
Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)) assisting on the score.
Exactly one minute after the first penalty of the third period the Gusties committed yet another slashing violation, giving the Saints the one-man advantage with the two-goal lead. The two-goal lead quickly escalated to three as
Jordan Fralich (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Marshall School (Bismarck-NAHL)) put the dagger in the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties with the third power-play goal of the game for the Saints. Golka managed to assist on this one as well, marking his second of the night, with Pionk also tallying on another point to his night with an assist of his own.
Although the power-play game plan worked to perfection for the Saints, the game could have been much more difficult to win if it wasn't for the terrific goalie performance from Steeves. Despite the Saints being outshot on the night 25-20, Steeves stopped all 25 attempts that went his way to post his first collegiate shutout.
The win brings the Saints back to a .500 overall record as they now sit at 5-5-1.
Up Next
The Saints will now rest up after taking on two MIAC opponents on back-to-back nights, waiting a week until they travel to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for their next matchup on Friday.
