The #2 seeded Wildcat hockey team traveled to St. Peter to take on Gustavus Saturday afternoon, looking to earn an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Gusties showed why they held the #1 seed, coming away with the 5-1 win over St. Kate's in the Championship game of the MIAC Playoffs.

Gustavus got on the scoreboard first, scoring at 2:32 in the first period. Just over three and a half minutes later the Gusties took a 2-0 lead. But St. Kate's responded shortly thereafter when Meghan Lange scored at 8:35 off of a pass from Ashley Tilton to close the score to 2-1 at the end of the period.

The Wildcats stepped up their defensive efforts in the second period, but Gustavus slipped in a goal at 17:09 to go up 3-1 to start the third period. The final 20 minutes did not go St. Kate's way, as the Gusties scored two goals to seal the victory.

The Wildcats' finished second in the MIAC with a conference record of 13-3-2 and 18-5-2 overall. Despite missing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats may still earn an at-large bid. The draw for the tournament will be announced Monday morning at NCAA.com.

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