Stevens Point, Wis. – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team hit the road for a Friday Night non-conference showdown against the Pointers of UW-Stevens Point. Despite a strong 3-1 start, the Saints ultimately gave up five unanswered goals, falling 6-3 in K.B. Willett Arena.
The Saints offense came out firing tonight. Two shots from Nathan Adrian (Roseau, Minn./Roseau HS) and Brodie Girod (Clavet, SK, Canada/Clavet HS), respectively, paved the way for the Saints first goal of the night from Evan Pahos (Parker, CO), a little under 2 minutes into the game. Pahos was assisted by Isaac Suppin (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada/George Elliot Secondary) and Braeden Holcomb (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) for his seventh goal of the season, giving the Saints an early 1-0 lead.
The Saints and Pointers each traded multiple shots on goal before the Pointers were able to tie the game up 1-1.
Soon after, 15:35 into the first period, Adrian found the back of the net for the second Saints goal of the night. Adrian gets an assist from Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS) and Riley Girod (Calvet, SK, Canada), hoisting the Saints to a 2-1 lead.
With 1:27 remaining in the first period, the Pointers took a minor tripping call, giving the Saints a power play that would spill over into the second period. However, despite firing five shots on goal during the power play, the Pointers' penalty kill kept the Saints off the board.
Shortly after the power play, 1:06 into the second period, B. Girod was able to win a face-off in the Pointer's zone, which immediately led to the Saints third and final goal for the night from Hunter Hanson (Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS).
Later in the second period, the Saints had another power play opportunity. Shortly into the power play, the Saints had a penalty called on themselves, evening the strength to 4 on 4. The Pointers would be able to hold off the Saints scoring attempts, and eventually capitalize in the extra seconds of their power play, scoring their second goal of the night, 11:22 into the second period. At 11:33, 11 seconds after, the Pointers scored their third goal of the night, and the score was tied up at three goals each, a bit more than halfway through the contest.
The Saints were called for a major high-sticking penalty with 1:42 remaining in the second period. St. Scholastica's defense stood tall against the Pointer's, killing off the penalty while facing six shots on goal.
Shortly after the penalty kill for the Saints, Hanson had a breakaway scoring opportunity. The Pointers, however, were able to defend the shot, and take the puck the other way across the ice to find the back of the net for their fourth goal, 4:01 into the third period.
The third period continued to be all Pointers, as the Saints struggled offensively. In a desperate effort to tie the game, St. Scholastica pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker in the final minutes of the third period. While St. Scholastica had a few more scoring chances, the Pointers sealed the victory with two empty-net goals, including a buzzer-beating sixth goal to close out the game 6-3.
In goal for the Saints tonight was Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars). He recorded 36 saves with a save percentage of .900.
In goal for the Pointers tonight was Alex Proctor. He recorded 29 saves earning a .906 save percentage.
The Saints (8-5-1, 3-3-0) will look to bounce back tomorrow, January 11th, as they take on UW-River Falls at Hunt Arena in another non-conference match-up. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
