Notables:
-Third game in a row in which the Saints have come from behind to win
-Radford has recorded at least one point in eight straight games
-Saints have never lost a game at home when facing the Vikings
-100th career game for Sutliffe
-Phee recorded four pointsÂ
DULUTH, Minn. - (csssaints.com) The St. Scholastica men's hockey team earned a 7-2 victory over Lawrence University (Wis.) on Friday night, propelled forward by a four goal second period after falling behind in the first. This marks the third game in a row in which the Saints have come back from a deficit to earn the victory.
Behind Early
The Saints fell behind after less than two minutes of the game had passed when Lawrence player Sean Reynolds scored to put the Vikings up 1-0. The goal was not answered until eight minutes later when, on a power play, Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev./Odyssey Charter School (Langley Rivermen-BCHL) ), playing in his 100th career game, tied it up for the Saints, assisted by Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)) and Steven Phee (Balzac, Alberta/George McDougall HS (Canmore-AJHL) ). The Vikings took advantage of a power play of their own, and with four minutes to go in the period, Lawrence's Lane King collected a goal to put them up 2-1 going into the first intermission. It would prove to be the last goal allowed for the Vikings, however.
Strong Second
Brett Radford (Campbell River, British Columbia/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL)) started out the strong second period for the Saints with a goal, assisted by Connor Faupel (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Century HS (UW-Superior)) and Kyle Beaulieu (White Rock, British Columbia/Earl Marriott (St. Norbert)) to tie the score at 2-2. Two minutes later, a shot was deflected in front of the Vikings net, launching it over the goal. The puck bounced against the glass and dropped back to the ice in front of the Vikings goal, where it rolled and slid across the goal line unseen and untouched by LU's goalie. Cole Golka (Ardrossan, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Dryden Ice Dogs-SIJHL)) was credited with the go-ahead goal, assisted by Phee and Max Mettler (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS (Minot-NAHL)).
The Saints kept pushing and were rewarded for their efforts. 14 seconds after Golka's goal, Mike Nolan (Aldergrove, British Columbia/Yale Secondary (Fresno-WSHL)), assisted by Golka and Beaulieu, fired a shot past the goalkeeper, extending St. Scholastica's lead to two. The final goal of the four-goal period came from Phee on another power play, with assists from Radford and Sutliffe. This put the score at 5-2 halfway through the second period, a score that would not change until after the second intermission.
Final Push
The third period saw more of the same success from the Saints as well as frustration from the Vikings. More than half of the period passed before the score changed, thanks to Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)), assisted by Brandon Millin (Port Moody, British Columbia/Heritage Woods HS (Notre Dame Hounds-SJHL) ) and Phee on the power play goal. Kristofer McKinzie (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Marshall School (Minnesota Magicians-NAHL)) collected the last goal of the game, assisted by Faupel, to give the game its final score of 7-2 with just over six minutes to be played.
Notable Performances
The Saints had seven different players with goals on the night. Phee collected four points, a season high, with one goal and three assists. Faupel and Beaulieu each had two assists on the night. Millin has an assist and led the team with 10 shots on goal. Every player for CSS managed at least one shot on goal, aside from goalie Zane Steeves (Red Deer, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (100 Mile Wranglers-KIJHL)), who was otherwise occupied between the pipes. He saved 19 of the 21 shots he faced to earn the victory.
Reynolds and King had the two goals for the Vikings. Matt Montemurro and Carson Knop led LU with three shots on goal each. Goalie Mattias Soderqvist saved 22 of the 26 shots he faced. Evan Cline, who came in as relief in the second period saved 20 of the 23 shots he saw.
Up Next
The Saints (9-6-1, 7-3-1 NCHA) are back in action on Saturday against Lawrence (8-9-2, 4-5-2 NCHA) once more at the Mars Lakeview Arena. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.
