Notables
-Chumley earns first two collegiate goals
-Whiteley tallied two assists in the game
-Rose scores first collegiate goal
-The Saints are two wins shy of 500 as a program
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica men's hockey team earned a 4-1 win over Northland College on Saturday night in its home opener at the Mars Lakeview Arena in front of a crowd of Halloween-costumed fans.
The Action
The Saints opened up the first period with a goal from Seth Chumley (Cambridge, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Minnesota Iron Rangers-SIJHL)), assisted by Kale Derkson (Regina, Saskatchewan/Sheldon Williams Collegiate/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Notre Dame-SJHL)) and Davis Ross (Fort Frances, Ontario/Fort Frances HS (Fort Frances-SIJHL)), to put the score at 1-0 after seven minutes of play had gone by. The goal came just 45 seconds after the Saints were unable to capitalize on a power play opportunity. Not long after that, Northland evened the score on a Kurt Sonne goal. The Saints killed off a penalty in the remaining minutes of the period and the teams went into the first intermission with a tied score of 1-1.
In the second period, the Saints found more success offensively. Just 49 seconds into the period, Chumley put another shot between the pipes, for his second season and second career goal to re-earn the lead for CSS. Andrew Clark (Brandon, Manitoba/Crocus Plains Regional School (Waywayseecappo-MJHL)) and Ryan Cooper (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster Secondary (Dauphin-MJHL)) were credited with the assists on the goal. Halfway through the period, Parker Weekes (Ketchum, Idaho/Holderness School (Boston Jr. Rangers-EHL)), assisted by Mike Nolan (Aldergrove, British Columbia/Yale Secondary (Fresno-WSHL)) and Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)) put one past the keeper to make the score 3-1. Play got aggressive towards the end of the second period, but neither team could put another point on the board before the second intermission.
An early penalty from Northland put the Saints on power play, and they took advantage just after a successful penalty kill. Carson Rose (Surrey, British Columbia/Elgin Park Secondary (Weyburn-SJHL)) earned the power play goal, assisted by Whiteley - his second assist of the game - and Brett Radford (Campbell River, British Columbia/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL)). This put the score at 4-1 and despite two more power plays, one for each team, no more goals were scored and the Saints took the victory for their first home game of the season.
Notable Performances
Chumley led the offense with two goals, followed by Weekes and Rose with a goal a piece. Whiteley had two of the game's eight assists. Forbes Ploszaj (Gilbert, Arizona/Gilbert HS (Aberdeen-NAHL)) was between the pipes for the Saints and made 22 saves in his first collegiate start.
For Northland, Kurt Sonne had the sole goal. AJ Smith was the goaltender, and he made 32 saves out of the 36 shots he faced.
Up Next
The Saints (2-0-0) are in Duluth again next weekend when they take on Aurora University (Ill.) on Friday night at Mars Lakeview Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
