APPLETON, Wisc. — St. Scholastica faced Lawrence University for the second time this season on Saturday evening, battling throughout before falling 4-3 to the Vikings.
Lawrence struck first at the 2:51 mark of the first period. Despite an early penalty kill by the Saints, the Vikings added another goal shortly after to give Lawrence a 2-0 advantage just over six minutes into the game. St. Scholastica responded when
Gavin Gunderson (Roseau, MN/Roseau HS) found the net at 7:43, assisted by
Matej Palfy (Kosice, Slovakia/Gymnasium Trebisovska) and
Riley Girod (Calvet, SK, Canada/), cutting the deficit to one.
The Saints entered the second period trailing by a goal, but on a power play.
Braden Panzer (Grand Forks, ND/Grand Forks Central HS) capitalized at 1:48 to tie the game, with assists from
Jared Scott (Kenosha, WI/Christian Life School) and
Andrew Cumming (St. Cloud, MN/St. Cloud HS). Lawrence regained the lead on their own power play at 4:15, but the Saints responded once again as Cumming scored unassisted at 9:10. The Vikings responded less than a minute later by regaining the lead with what proved to be the game winning tally.
St. Scholastica applied sustained offensive pressure throughout the third period, firing 13 shots on goal. Despite this, the Vikings' defense held strong, and the Saints were unable to equalize the score.
Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) made 20 saves in goal for the Saints, while
Hunter Hanson (Blaine, MN/Blaine HS) led the team with five shots on net.
The Saints (4-8-1, 1-4-1 MIAC) return home to continue their non-conference stretch. They face UW-Stevens Point on Friday, January 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena.
