Box Score DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team defeated the Marian University (Wis.) 3-1 on Saturday and clinched the third seed and home ice for the Harris Cup Playoffs quarterfinals next weekend.

Both Marian and St. Scholastica came in tied for fourth. With Lake Forest College (Ill.) falling to Adrian College (Mich.) earlier in the day, it meant a CSS tie or win would give them the third seed, but a loss would drop them to fifth. It was also Senior Day at Mars Lakeview Arena as the Saints honored eight seniors.

The Saints actually trailed early in the contest after Marian's Ben Morgan took a Scott Milnthorp pass and put it past Saints goalie Tyler Bruggeman (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS (Austin-NAHL) ) to take a 1-0 lead just 6:39 into the first period.

CSS would answer back later in the period when Alex Valenti (Blaine, Wash./Bellingham HS (Merritt-BCHL) ) found the back of the net off of passes from seniors Chad Golanowski (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll HS (Calgary Canucks-AJHL) ) and Paul Marcoux (Brandon, Manitoba /Vincent Massey Collegiate (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) to tie the game at 1-1 with five minutes left in the first.

A scary moment for official Jon Loye occurred in the second period when a clearing attempt by the Saints struck his jaw and forced him to leave the ice for the remainder of the period.  He would return in the third and finish the remainder of the game.

Both teams remained tied at 1-1 until the midway point of the third when Dave Williams (Okotoks, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) made a nifty move to shoot the puck past the Marian goalie and take the lead for Saints at 2-1.  Keegan Bruce (Bellingham, Wash./Bellingham HS (Weyburn-SJHL) ) and Joel Paiement (Okotoks, Alberta/Holy Trinity Academy (Calgary Canucks-AJHL) ) got credit for the assists on the play.

The Saints would hold the lead all the way through until the end of game, including enduring a Marian power play with four minutes to go.  Marcoux would add an empty net goal with 40 seconds left to allow the Saints to skate away with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Marian.

Tyler Bruggeman (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS (Austin-NAHL) ) made 18 saves to earn the win for the Saints. Josh baker had 34 saves in the loss for the Sabres (11-12-2, 10-7-1 NCHA). Both teams were once again 0-for-5 on the power-play.

The Saints (13-8-4, 10-5-3 NCHA) will host Concordia University (Wis.) in the quarterfinals of the Harris Cup playoffs next Friday and Saturday. It is a two-game series with 20-minute mini-game to follow game two on Saturday, if necessary. Puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday night at Mars Lakeview Arena.