NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior Solvei Berg-Messerole scored at 3:54 of overtime to give the St. Olaf College women's hockey team a 3-2 victory over fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener for both teams on Friday night at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

Gustavus (1-2-0, 0-1-0 MIAC) twice took the lead, but St. Olaf (2-3-0, 1-0-0 MIAC) twice came from behind to tie the game, including forcing overtime on a 6-on-4 goal by sophomore Emilie Anderson with 15.6 seconds to go in regulation. In the extra session, Berg-Messerole scored with a wrist shot from the left circle just as a power play was expiring to give the Oles the extra point in the standings.

The win was just St. Olaf's third in 55 all-time meetings with Gustavus, as the Oles moved to 3-49-3 in the series. The Oles had been 0-24-1 in the last 25 meetings since a 5-2 victory on Feb. 18, 2012. St. Olaf's only other prior victory over Gustavus was a 3-2 win in St. Peter on Dec. 11, 2009. The win was also St. Olaf's fifth in 90 games (5-82-3) against nationally-ranked teams in the USCHO.com poll's archives (2006-07).

Gustavus got on the board first with just 10.4 seconds remaining in the opening period when Lily Mortenson won an offensive-zone faceoff, maneuvered around a defender, and slid the puck across to Makaela Reinke to put home. The Gusties held a slight 11-9 advantage in shots on goal in the period.

The visitors held St. Olaf without a shot on goal for the first 11-plus minutes of the second period and outshot the Oles by a 12-1 margin in the period, but sophomore Baylyn Shankman stopped all 12 shots she faced to keep the Gusties off the board.

In the third, Berg-Messerole tallied her first goal of the night at 6:21 by tipping in a shot by sophomore Bryn Etzell, who got the puck from senior MaKenna Beaver, to tie the game at 1-1. Gustavus reclaimed the lead four minutes later when Noelle Hemr slid the puck under a sprawling Shankman at the top of the crease at 10:33.

With Gustavus still up 2-1, St. Olaf pulled Shankman for the extra attacker with 1:42 remaining and got a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 29.5 seconds after a cross-checking penalty in the corner. With the two-skater advantage, the Oles tied the game with 15.6 seconds left on Anderson's third collegiate goal, as the sophomore jammed the puck in from in close after shots by Berg-Messerole and sophomore Bella LaMere.

Right off the faceoff in overtime, Berg-Meserole had a chance to win it on a breakaway but was denied by Claire Bronson. Gustavus went the other way quickly and got a breakaway for Mortenson, but Shankman made the save to keep the Oles in it. The Gusties took a hooking penalty at the 1:54 mark of overtime to set up a 4-on-3 power play for St. Olaf.

Gustavus kept St. Olaf at bay on the power play until Berg-Messerole got the puck off the left boards, circled, and scored on a wrist shot from the left circle right as the power play was expiring to win it for the Oles.

In a game where Gustavus held a 37-22 advantage in shots on goal, Shankman made 35 saves to record the win for St. Olaf. Bronson had 19 saves in the loss for the Gusties.

The two teams will wrap up their series on Saturday, Nov. 15 with a 2 p.m. start at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter.