Even though the game was on a Wednesday, fans of both teams made the trip out to the Arena for this NCAA opening round game. The Gustavus faithful were all decked out in white shirts for a white out effect, while the St. Thomas supporters were wearing purple and white in support of their team.
And in the end, it was the home fans that went home happy as their Gusties prevailed, 3-1.
“I thought we were more focused than our game against them last week”, said Gustavus head coach Brett Petersen. “I felt we controlled play well, and did a good job getting chances, getting to rebounds, and focusing on defense. Everyone out there played well tonight.”
Gustavus Adolphus opened the period by controlling play in the St. Thomas zone and were quickly rewarded with a power play. The Gusties kept the puck in the St. Thomas end for most of the power play, but were unable to solve Tommie netminder Joe Schraeder. Gustavus was able to put several shots on net, but most were from the outside, as St. Thomas did an excellent job clogging up the crease and keeping the Gusties from getting any good looks.
At 7:04 of the first period the Gusties struck first. From the corner Brad Wieck threw the puck to the front of the net, saw it deflect off a St. Thomas defender’s stick and then slowly trickle in behind Schraeder, giving Gustavus a 1-0 lead. It may not have been a highlight reel goal, but it counted nonetheless, and sent the Gustavus students into a frenzy.
Following the goal, Gustavus continued to apply offensive pressure, as St. Thomas seemed content to stay back defensively and look for transition opportunities for themselves. The Tommies are at their best when they are able to disrupt the offensive buildup of their opponents by forechecking, clogging passing lanes, and creating turnovers.
As the first period would down, each team would receive a power play opportunity, and while each was able to generate shots, neither was able to put the puck into the net. Gustavus netminder Josh Swartout was not tested often, but he was tested well, being forced to turn away point blank shots and 2-on-1s.
“We tend to outshoot our opponents,” said Swartout. “I try to keep communicating with my defensemen as they get to the puck, it helps me stay involved and stay focused since there are stretches where I don’t see many shots. That way when they do get a good look, I’m ready to challenge them.”
The first period ended eerily similar to the game one week ago, with Gustavus leading 1-0 and outshooting the Tommies heavily in shots on goal, 14-5. In the MIAC championship game, the Gusties led 1-0 after one with a 17-7 shots on goal advantage.
The second period would start out the same as the first, with Gustavus controlling play and St. Thomas looking to break out offensively. The Gusties pressure paid off again, this time just a couple of minutes into the period as a bad angle shot to the left of Schraeder found a hole to give the home team a 2-0 lead.
Play would even up after that goal, with St. Thomas finding more success cycling the puck while still limiting Gustavus’s chances. The Tommies were able to apply steady pressure throughout the middle of the second period, and at one point were outshooting the Gusties in the period.
The pressure and resulting scoring chances would not result in any goals for the Tommies though, as Gustavus defensemen consistently gave themselves up to block shots, and when the puck did get through, Swartout was there to shut the door. The junior goalie for the Gusties made several key saves to preserve the lead, on breakaways, from open shooters in the slot, and on wrap around attempts.
Near the end of the period, Gustavus reasserted control of the game, unleashing a flurry of shots on Schraeder, who made several spectacular saves to keep it a two goal game. St. Thomas defenders also gave themselves up to stop shots from reaching their goaltender, but were not able to clear the puck for almost two full minutes.
The second period ended with Gustavus leading 2-0, and were outshooting their opponents 28-16. The second half of the period took on a decidedly more physical appearance, with neither team being afraid to play the body and lay some big hits on their opponents. Tempers boiled over at one point leading to matching minors after some post-whistle pushing and shoving.
These are two of the least penalized teams in the MIAC, and it was unusual to see them lose their focus, especially in such an important game.
The third period would see the Gusties adopt a new strategy. They kept up their forecheck, but otherwise drew back into the defensive zone, forcing St. Thomas to dump the puck in and chase it. Gustavus also seemed content to chip the puck out of their zone and force St. Thomas to bring it all the way down the ice, instead of trying to force their own rushes.
“Our goal for the third period was to go out and win the period”, said Petersen. “It may be human nature to try and stay back and focus on defense, but our intent was to go out and keep playing like we had.”
With just over six minutes left in the period, the score was still 2-0 in favor of Gustavus. Intentional or not, the Gusties’ attention to defense was keeping St. Thomas from creating scoring chances and had the added benefit of eating time off the clock.
With 6:17 remaining in the game, St. Thomas would finally get on the scoreboard and cut the Gustavus lead in half. A wraparound attempt fluttered into the air, and resulted in a scramble for the puck to the left of Swartout. Eventually the puck was batted in by St. Thomas’s Parker Burgess, making the game 2-1.
Gustavus took an interference penalty only 10 seconds after the goal, putting St. Thomas in perfect position to knot the game up. Gustavus, however, had different ideas and played a hard hitting kill, constantly punishing Tommies with hard hits as they tried to skate into the zone. St. Thomas never had a good look on the power play, and the crowd roared into life every time the puck was chipped out of the Gustavus end of the ice.
After the penalty expired, Gustavus roared back into an offensive mindset, controlling play in the St. Thomas end and forechecking unrelentingly.
“I felt that the penalty on us really brought us back into the game,†said Petersen. “We went out there and played physically, which brought the crowd back into the game. I don’t think they had a shot on goal during their power play, and it helped us regain some of the momentum we had lost by giving up that goal.”
With 3:14 remaining in the game, Gustavus was rewarded with a power play chance. The Gusties kept the puck in the St. Thomas zone for most of the power play, putting shots on net, getting to rebounds, and pushing their advantage. Just over a minute into the power play, Rory Dynan skated into the slot and fired a shot that went just wide. The puck rebounded off the end boards where Ross Ring-Jarvi scooped it up and fired a shot on net that beat Schraeder, giving Gustavus a 3-1 lead.
“We knew we would need to win the special teams battle,” said Petersen. “I didn’t think it would come with just three minutes left in the game, but I felt we played well on the penalty kill and on the power play all game, even if it didn’t always result in a goal. You can gain momentum from a successful kill or from the pressure you generate on a power play, even if you don’t score.”
Unlike the last time these two teams met, Gustavus applied pressure throughout all three periods, and continued to play hard deep into the third period. Perhaps their marathon four overtime game preceding the MIAC title game had sapped some energy then, or maybe they were determined to avoid another let down at home.
Regardless of the reason, Gustavus continued to pepper Schraeder from start to finish, and finished the game with a 40-19 advantage in shots on goal. The Gusties outshot the Tommies in every period, including by a margin of 12-3 in the third period.
The Tommies pulled Schraeder with just over a minute left, but were unable to keep the puck in the Gusties’ zone as Gustavus was able to win the battle for loose pucks and chip them out. As time ticked off the clock, the student section rose to their feet to count down the remaining seconds. As time ran out, the fans erupted into cheers as Gustavus players swarmed off the bench to celebrate, leaving the St. Thomas players and fans to console themselves over their season’s end.
“Our goal this season was to win the regular season and in the playoffs,” said Dynan. “When they beat us last weekend, it felt like they took something away from us, and we were ready to fight to get it back”
Gustavus showed plenty of fight from the first faceoff to the final buzzer, and are now left as the only MIAC team still alive in the NCAA tournament. They’ll certainly take some time to celebrate this victory before moving on to face their next opponent.
St. Thomas finished their season with a record of 13-11-4, while Gustavus’s record now stands at 20-6-2. Despite reaching the national championship game last season, Gustavus was not able to reach the 20-win mark.
Following the completion of this game, it was learned that St. Norbert had defeated Adrian 4-3, meaning Gustavus will hit the road to face the Green Knights on Saturday in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup. The winner of that game will be the lone western representative in Lake Placid as the last four D-III teams fight for the national title.
