DE PERE - St. Norbert College cashed in its offensive chances as the Green Knights rolled to a 6-1 win over Trine University in a battle of nationally ranked teams in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Harris Cup Playoffs semifinal game at Cornerstone Community Center.
The Green Knights (22-5-1), ranked No. 5 in the USCHO.com Division III Poll, jumped out to a three-goal lead on the seventh-ranked Thunder (20-6-2) and never wavered. St. Norbert will host Adrian College in the Harris Cup Playoffs championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Cornerstone Community Center after the Bulldogs clipped top-seeding Aurora University 2-0 in the other semifinal.
St. Norbert jumped ahead about midway through the first period when
Dayton Deics' (pictured, left) wrister caught the inside of the post and went in at the 9-minute mark for a 1-0 lead for the only scoring of the first 20 minutes.
The Green Knights added to their lead early in the second period when
Carter Hottmann's backhand was true just 22 seconds into the frame. St. Norbert then picked up a huge momentum builder when
Braden Lindstrom corralled a loose puck in the offensive zone and scored shorthanded at 11:53. Trine would get its only goal later on the power play on a score by Jack Cooper at 12:56, but the Green Knights promptly responded with another Hottmann goal, with the captain potting the goal from directly out front at 13:17 for a 4-1.
St. Norbert would salt the game away in the third period, with Lindstrom getting his second goal of the night with a marker at 7:15.
Logan Dombrowsky then scored shorthanded into an empty net at 15:38 to close out the scoring.
Lindstrom finished with two goals and one assist for three points, while Dombrowsky had one goal and two assists for three points. Hottmann had the only other multi-point game with his two goals for two points.
Shots were even at 27-27.
Hunter Garvey made 26 stops for the Green Knights, while Ronnie Petrucci made 21 stops for the Thunder.
St. Norbert was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Trine was 1-for-3.
