ST PETER — Sara Yungner called for the puck with all of the confidence of an every-game goal scorer.

“We’re usually pretty vocal on the ice, or we try to be,” she said.

The junior defenseman for the Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey team slipped down into the right circle and got a perfect pass from defensive partner Kirstin Peterson, who obviously heard the call. Yungner caught the puck, fired and watched it trickle behind Wisconsin-Stevens Point goalie Ann Hulme.

It was hardly an everyday affair, though, as it was Yungner’s first goal of the season.

“We shoot to score, but we shoot to get rebounds, too,” Yungner said after the No. 10 Gusties defeated the Pointers 4-3 in a nonconference game at the Don Roberts Ice Rink. “The first thing in my head isn’t to score, usually.”

It was hard to tell that on Tuesday night, as Yungner finished the game with two goals. She also assisted on freshman Tam Meuwissen’s game-winner.

“It’s good,” Gusties coach Mike Carroll said. “(Yungner has) been working hard. She can shoot the puck. It was nice that she was able to find time and find a hole. … She took what the defense gave her and kept sliding down low.”

Both of Yungner’s goals came in the first period, following teammate Meagan Wanecke’s opening score at 5:15. Yungner made it 2-0 just 81 seconds later, and 3-1 with a power-play goal with 30 seconds remaining in the frame.

Her goals came against different goalies, as Hulme was pulled after Yungner’s first goal. But even with d’Andra Phillips in net, Yungner scored from virtually the exact same spot.

“It’s good to see kids who work as hard as (Yungner) does game in and game out get rewarded,” Carroll said.

After Yungner fed Meuwissen for a 5-on-3 power-play blast to make it 4-1 at the 6:35 mark of the third period, it looked like the Gusties were going to win a laugher. Through two periods, Gustavus had outshot Stevens Point 28-11 and had 41 more attempted shots.

But something sparked the Pointers after that.

Sixty-five seconds after Meuwissen’s goal, Jessica Edwards got loose on a partial breakaway during a 4-on-4 situation and made it a two-goal game again.

At 13:25, Erin Marvin scored her second goal of the game, tapping a loose puck in behind goalie Emily Klatt after Klatt couldn’t get a handle on a bouncing shot by Michelle Lunneborg.

The Pointers poured on the pressure and outshot the Gusties 12-10 in the final period, but Klatt (20 saves) and the Gusties held on down the stretch.

“It was a little scary, but we had the confidence to get it done,” Yungner said. “It was definitely good to have a challenge, especially at the end. It tests our conditioning and tests our strength.

“It’s good to have a close game. It makes us a better team.”

Now that the Gusties (13-4-2) have completed nonconference play for the season, they can focus on the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference race. The five-time defending conference champs are two points out of first place with six games to play.

“We’re not accustomed to being where we’re at, but we’re OK with that,” Carroll said. “I’m really happy with the way the team has steadily improved.”

Notes

Former Mankato West standout Amber Ostoff plays for Stevens Point. The freshman defenseman, who has three goals and three assists this season, got a lot of ice time on Tuesday, playing on the power-play and penalty-kill units for the Pointers. While she was held off the scoreboard, she finished with a plus-2 rating. … Peterson assisted on both of Yungner’s goals. Melissa Mackley also had an assist – her team-leading 11th. … The Gusties will play again on Friday when they travel to St. Paul to play Hamline. The second game of the series will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday in St. Peter.