NORTHFIELD, Minn – The St. Scholastica Men's Hockey team squared off in a MIAC match up against the Oles of St. Olaf tonight. With strong playoff implications on the line, both teams sought out a win. The Saints were able to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first period, but the Oles scored four unanswered goals. Despite a last-second goal from the Saints, the Oles were able to close this game out at St. Olaf Ice Arena, with a final score of 5-4.
The game started out strong for the Saints. Tristan Shewchuk (Saskatoon, SK, Canada/St. Joseph HS) scored his 11th goal of the season 4:13 into the first period, with assists from Jacob Seitz (Mountain Iron, Minn./Virginia HS) and Aksel Jalojarvi (Lahti, Finland).
The Saints were able to block two shots before the Ole's Jonathan Panisa was able to find the back of the net to tie things up at the 6:43 mark.
12 seconds later, the Saint's Gavin Gunderson (Roseau, Minn) kept his offensive hot streak alive with his fourth goal in three games. Gunderson was able to score with assists from Brodie Girod (Clavet, SK, Canada/Clavet HS) and Sam Olson (Duluth, Minn/Cloquet HS). This line for the Saints offense wasn't done yet, as B. Girod was able to score his own goal at the 9:44 mark, with assists from Gavin Gunderson (Roseau, Minn) and Hunter Hanson (Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS), extending the Saint's lead to 3-1.
This goal frenzy didn't end there, as the Oles offense worked to shrink the Saints lead heading into the second period, and were able to do just that. With a little over four minutes remaining in the first period, the Ole's Tony Leahy scored on a wide-open Saint's net.
The second period belonged to the Oles tonight, as Tyler Green, Panisa, and Adam Johnson were each able to score during the period, as the latter two goals came on St. Olaf power plays. This catapulted the Oles into a 5-3 lead heading into the third period.
Down two goals in the third, B. Girod broke free on a breakaway at the 10-minute mark, but the Ole's goalie, Thomas Lalonde was able to fight it off for a crucial save.
With two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, the Saints pulled goalie Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) for an extra skater. As Saints fans held their breath, Seitz was able to score the final goal of the game at the 19:52 mark with an assist from Shewchuk, earning them each a two-point night. This last-second goal proved to come a few-seconds too late, as the Saints were unable to score again in the final 8 seconds, as the final buzzer sounded with a score of 5-4 in favor of the Oles displayed on the scoreboard in Northfield.
The Saints (11-10-1, 6-7-0 MIAC) currently sit third overall in conference standings with 19 points. St. Olaf now sits in a tie with St. John's for fourth and fifth place, each with 17 points on the season.
The Saints will look to bounce back tomorrow night in the series finale against the Oles at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth. A winter storm is in the forecast for much of Minnesota, so expect plenty of ice tomorrow night - both outside and inside of the rink - as puck drop is scheduled for 7pm.
