Duluth, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team hosted the Cardinals from Saint Mary's this evening at Mars Lakeview Arena, the Saints grabbed an early lead after two periods of play, and added two late goals to lead the Saints to their 10th win of the season by a score of 5-1.
How it Happened
First Period
The Cardinals offense held most of the momentum in the early moments of the first period, with Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) recording nine early saves and the Saints penalty kill successfully killed off two penalties, as the score remained at 0-0.
After the Saints were handed yet another penalty with less than four minutes to play, Rissanen recorded three more saves, adding to his total and keeping the game at 0-0.
Just over a minute and a half after the Saints were back to full strength, Evan Pahos (Parker, CO) beat the Cardinals goaltender to score his eighth goal of the season, with assists going to Issac Suppin and Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS), giving the Saints a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission.
Second Period
CSS got off to a fast start offensively to open the period, as in the early stages, Jacob Seitz (Mountain Iron, Minn./Virginia HS) and Shewchuk looked to expand the lead but were denied.
The Cardinals looked to even the score midway through the period, but the Saints handled the pressure very well, denying the Cardinals' opportunities with the score still sitting at 1-0.
At the 13:13 mark in the period, the Saints would finally find the back of the net after numerous opportunities in the period, this time coming off the stick of Gavin Gunderson (Roseau, Minn), as assists were credited to Brodie Girod (Clavet, SK, Canada/Clavet HS) and Hunter Hanson (Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS), pushing the Saints lead to 2-0.
Following a penalty being called on the Saints, Saint Mary's capitalized on the opportunity and scored their first goal of the game, cutting the Saints lead in half at 2-1.
It didn't take long for St. Scholastica to respond, however, as less than a minute later Kieran Chung (Nottingham, Great Britain) scored his second goal of the season, as Braeden Holcomb (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) and Wyatt Wurst (Edina, MN) recorded assists on the goal, giving the Saints its two-goal lead back in the late moments of the period.
Nathan Adrian (Roseau, Minn./Roseau HS) tried to add to the Saints total with a late goal with a shot on goal, but the Cardinals shut down the opportunity, with the Saints leading 3-1 heading into the final period of play.
Third Period
An early Cardinals penalty led to the Saints going on the powerplay, and despite Wurst, Hanson, and Girod getting looks at the net, but were ultimately turned away.
Rissanen continued his dominant night with five saves across the early minutes of the period, keeping the score right at 3-1.
Both teams traded possession in the middle stages, with the score remaining at 3-1 in favor of CSS.
As the Saints offense continued to press on to look for the goal to put them over the top, Girod would answer the call at the 15:56 mark in the period, scoring another goal for CSS to expand their lead to 4-1.
The Saints added another goal with less than two minutes in the period, as Shewchuk put the final exclamation mark in the contest, scoring a goal with assists going to Seitz and Wurst, as the Saints recorded their 10th victory of the season with a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.
Top Performers
- Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) picked up the win in net for the Saints, recording 48 saves with a .980 percentage.
- Brodie Girod (Clavet, SK, Canada/Clavet HS) added two points in tonight's contest, scoring a goal and recording an assist in the victory.
- Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS) provided a strong offensive performance tonight, logging a goal and an assist, while also recording four shots on goal.
- Wyatt Wurst (Edina, MN) provided a great defensive output tonight, recording two assists while also notching a team-high four blocked shots and a plus-minus of +4
Up Next
The Saints (10-9-1, 5-6-0 MIAC) will be back in action tomorrow night, where they will once again take on the Cardinals at Mars Lakeview Arena. Puck-drop is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
