Box Score Box score
In the end, the Saints just couldn't find a way to beat St. Norbert's all-star goalie as the Green Knights beat visiting St. Scholastica 1-0 on Saturday night in front of 1,399 fans, eliminating the Saints in the semifinals of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association postseason tournament.
Following their quarterfinals win over No. 7 Wis.-River Falls last weekend, the Saints (10-13-5) had won the Herculean task of heading to De Pere, Wis., to face the nation's top-ranked team and their NCHA Player of the Year goalie.
St. Norbert (23-1-4) got the game off on the right foot for the home team with a goal only 6:18 after the opening face-off to take a 1-0 lead. They outshot the Saints eight to five in the opening period but other than that one goal Saints netminder Tyler Johnson (East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks HS) was every bit the equal of Norbert's Kyle Jones.
Both goalies stoned their opponents over the final 40 minutes, Johnson finishing with 22 saves on 23 shots and Jones recording his NCAA career-record 23rd shutout stopping all 28 St. Scholastica shots.
The Saints' best chance to get one behind Jones may have come in the third period when, already on a power play, a hooking penalty was called on Norbert giving the Saints a two-man advantage for 56 seconds.
They didn't score in the initial power plays 1:04, then failed to take advantage of the 5-on-3, and then couldn't find the tying goal in the second penalty's last 1:04 -- a 3-minute and 4-second stretch of at least a man-advantage.
As time clicked toward the final minute of play the Saints pulled Johnson for an extra attacker with 1:10 to play but once more Jones and the Knights held the St. Scholastica offense at bay and closed out the shutout victory that propels them into the NCHA Peters Cup final, one win away from the NCAA tournament.
The loss ends the Saints 2007-08 season short of the conference finals where last year's season ended at the hands of the same Green Knights.
