Gusties fall in national semis

The Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team put together a furious third-period rally at the NCAA Division III Frozen Four, but fell short, losing 5-4 to Norwich in the national semifinals Friday afternoon.

The Gusties scored three times in the third period and outshot the Cadets 15-8 in the frame but could not overcome the 5-1 two-period-deficit.

Allie Schwab scored two goals in the third, including one with 37 seconds remaining and an extra attacker on the ice to make it a one-goal game. They were the 15th and 16th goals of the season for the junior forward. Jenna Christensen got Gustavus’ rally started 75 seconds into the final period.

Norwich got off to a strong start, outshooting Gustavus 10-5 and getting two goals from Julie Fortier in the first period. Fortier completed her hat trick with a power-play goal at 2:27 of the second period, giving the Cadets a 3-0 lead.

Lindsey Hjelm got the Gusties on the board at the 4:48 mark, but Norwich got goals from Melissa Rundlett (power play) and Brittane Michaud before the period ended to take a four-goal lead into the third. Sophie Leclerc assisted on all three Norwich goals in that period.

Gustavus outshot Norwich 36-26. Gusties goalie Danielle Justice stopped 21 shots in the loss. Cindy Fortin got the win with 32 saves.

The Gusties (22-4-3) will take on either Middlebury or Rochester Institute of Technology for third place at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.