January 31, 2012

UW-Superior Hands #5 Gustavus First Loss

(From UW-Superior Sports Information)
SUPERIOR,Wis.-  Unbeaten Gustavus came out flying on all cylinders right out of the gates, and they had plenty of scoring opportunities during their power play 4:51 into the game.  Four shots on goal were produced during that power play, but Shanley Peters (Gnadenthal, Manitoba/Garden Valley Collegiate) came up big, as she stopped them all.  The Gusties would go on a six-to-zero run in the shot department, but a few key blocked shots and big defensive plays by the Yellowjackets kept the game scoreless, while giving them life to generate offense later in the period. 

The Yellowjackets started to show a little bit of rhythm, but it wouldn’t last and the Gusties would break through.  They scored the first goal of the game when Jess Harren squirted the puck past Peters to give the Gusties a 1-0 lead.  The lead wouldn't last long, however, as the Yellowjackets took that as motivation and they capitalized 2:29 later.  Kerry Mayhew (Littleton,Colo./Heritage) took the pass from Teal Crosson (Alexander, Manitoba/Crocus Plains) down low and skated through the middle and fired a wrist shot that was stopped by Gusties’ goaltender Marah Sobczak.  Sobczak had no idea where the puck was after the save and Mayhew pounced on the rebound and tapped it into the net to tie the game at one goal apiece.  The Gusties outshot the Yellowjackets 9-4 in the first period.
 
The Yellowjackets carried the momentum into the second period and didn’t look back.  A hooking penalty on the Gusties gave the Yellowjackets even more fuel and they took advantage, scoring on the power play.  Kelsey Firkus (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Chilliwack Senior Secondary) took a shot from the left wing that hit Gustie goaltender Sobczak in the left pad.  The rebound came directly back to her and her second shot snuck past Sobczak on the left side to give the Yellowjackets a 2-1 lead.  The power play goal came at 3:43 of the second period.  The Yellowjackets went on to produce two more solid scoring opportunities when Haley Olmstead (Fargo, N.D./Fargo North) and Mayhew both had breakaways, but Sobczak came up big both times to keep it a one-goal game.

The Yellowjackets continued to press and were rewarded with another before the end of the period.  Mayhew skated up the side of the left circle and took a shot that caught Sobczak off guard, beating her on the stick side to give the Yellowjackets a 3-1 lead.  The second period was all Yellowjackets as they outshot the Gusties 10-5.
 
As the third period unfolded the Yellowjackets continued to show that the slow start to the game was nothing but a distant memory.  They didn’t waste time proving that point on their next power play when Chelsey Wierschem (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) dished a pass up top to Kaiti Graham (Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg) who let a slap shot go that got through traffic and Firkus was in the right place to tip the shot past Sobczak and put the Yellowjackets up 4-1.  The Gusties began to have a few legitimate scoring opportunities as the third period rolled on, producing four straight shots at one point, but Peters stepped up again to shut them down. 

The Yellowjackets were not quite through with the Gusties and Dani Schultz (Morris, Minn./Morris Area) put the exclamation point on the game with her team-leading 16th goal on the season at 14:44 of the third period, making the final score 5-1.  Gustavus came up on top in the shot category 10-8 in the period.
 
Peters finished the contest with 23 saves for the Yellowjackets while Sobczak had 17 saves for the Gusties.
 
The Yellowjackets (12-5-2, 10-3-1 NCHA) have won five straight games and will return to NCHA play this Friday (Feb.3) at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday (Feb.4) at 2:00 p.m. where they will travel to Marian University for a pair of games against the Sabres.