EAU CLAIRE - St. Norbert College picked up its first win over a nationally ranked opponent for the first time in nearly six years by surprising UW-Eau Claire 2-1 in a non-conference game at Hobbs Ice Center.
The Green Knights (11-4) rode two second-period goals to defeat Eau Claire (14-2), ranked No. 3 in the USCHO.com Division III Poll. The victory was St. Norbert's first over a nationally ranked foe since a 3-1 win over No. 5 Lake Forest College on Feb. 26, 2016. It is also the highest-ranked team defeated by the Green Knights in program history.
St. Norbert and Eau Claire battled in a scoreless game for the first 30 minutes, with the Green Knights then getting the game's first power play when the host was cited for a slashing penalty at 10:12 of the second period. St. Norbert cashed in on the power-play opportunity, with
Ava Jaschke scoring off an assist from
Jordan Moore at 11:37 for her fourth goal of the season. The Green Knights doubled their lead at 18:45 of the second period, scoring three seconds after their second power play of the game expired when
Kelsey Ross finished for her second goal of the season, with
Eve Parker and
Jordan Moore getting assists.
Eau Claire had a power-play chance just seven seconds into the third period but came up empty. The Blugolds applied heavy pressure in the third period, outshooting the Green Knights 20-1 over the final 20 minutes. St. Norbert's defense kept Eau Claire off the scoreboard until the Blugolds got their second power-play chance with 31 seconds left. Eau Claire scored with 9.8 seconds remaining on an extra-attacker power-play goal by Hanna Zavoral. On the ensuing faceoff, the puck went below the St. Norbert goal line but the defense was able to run the clock out without Eau Claire getting another scoring chance.
Brynn Waisman turned in a stellar 41-save performance in goal to earn the win for St. Norbert. Kylah Krause made 15 saves for Eau Claire.
Eau Claire outshot St. Norbert 42-17, but the Green Knights had an 11-8 advantage in the decisive second period. Each team was 1-for-2 on the power play.
