Duluth, MN. – The St. Scholastica Men's Hockey team hosted the Auggies from Augsburg this evening at Mars Lakeview Arena. The Saints offense scored an early goal midway through the first period to hold an early advantage over the Auggies. CSS would score once more in the third period, while maintaining top-notch defense to shutout the Auggies tonight by a score of 2-0. 

How it Happened

1st Period

Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) shined early for the Saints, recording three shots within the first two minutes of play. 

Rissanen would make three more saves on the Auggies first powerplay of the night to keep the game scoreless in the early stages of the period. 

Jacob Seitz (Mountain Iron, Minn./Virginia HS) and Brodie Girod (Clavet, SK, Canada/Clavet HS) would each take a shot at the net to get the Saints on the board, but were denied in their efforts. 

After killing off another Auggies powerplay, the Saints would break the scoreless tie with a goal, courtesy of Nick Lanigan (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) with an assist going to Wyatt Wurst (Edina, MN), to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. 

CSS kept their foot on the gas after scoring the goal, with Braden Panzer (Grand Forks, ND), Aksel Jalojarvi (Lahti, Finland), and Girod all getting shots off, but the Auggies defense was able to stop the Saints on each opportunity. 

Augsburg would be able to kill off a Saints powerplay in the final seconds of the period, as the Saints took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. 

2nd Period

Matej Palfy (Kosice, Slovakia/Gymnasium Trebisovska) would record a blocked shot for the Saints on the penalty kill in a great effort to keep Augsburg scoreless. 

The Saints would get more defensive efforts in the middle stages of the period, as Kieran Chung (Nottingham, Great Britain), Panzer, and Evan Pahos (Parker, CO) would record blocked shots for the Saints. 

Hunter Hanson (Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) and Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS) would get opportunities to extend the Saints' lead, but were turned away with the score still at 1-0. 

The Auggies defense showed up big in the late stages of the period, denying the Saints on multiple opportunities, as the score remained at 1-0 heading into the second intermission.

3rd Period

It didn't take long for the Saints to pull through and find the back of the net once again, as Hanson would score on an assist from Wurst just 35 seconds into the period, extending the Saints' lead to 2-0. 

The Auggies went on the powerplay at the 3:27 mark in the period, and despite looks at the net, a blocked shot by Jack Fuss (Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and a key save from Rissanen would turn the Auggies away, still leading 2-0. 

Rissanen continued his dominance in the middle moments of the period, stopping four saves in under 30 seconds to keep the Auggies scoreless. 

CSS transitioned to a defense-first mentality to protect their lead, and it worked well for the Saints. Rissanen stopped the final six shots he faced in the period, and the Saints held on to take tonight's contest by a score of 2-0. 

Top Performers

• Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) stopped all 38 shots he faced tonight, receiving tonight's first star in the process. 

• Wyatt Wurst (Edina, MN) recorded two assists on both goals scored for the Saints in the victory. 

• Nick Lanigan (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) and Hunter Hanson (Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) scored the two goals for CSS tonight. 

• Matej Palfy (Kosice, Slovakia/Gymnasium Trebisovska) and Kieran Chung (Nottingham, Great Britain) led the way for the Saints defense with the pair each recording three blocked shots. 

Up Next

The Saints (4-3-1, 2-2-0) will take part in the Superior Showdown next week and their first game will be on Friday, November 29, their opponent is TBD but will take place at 4:00 p.m.