DE PERE, Wis. - Gustavus men's hockey outplayed No. 3 St. Norbert for stretches of time in Saturday's NCAA first round game, but fell just short in a 3-2 loss. The Gusties, who made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 13 years, finish the season 16-10-2 overall.Â
The Gusties faced adversity in the opening minute of the game as top line defenseman
Jackson McCarthy exited the game with an injury. Midway through the period, the Green Knights got on the board with their top line forwards and the score remained 1-0 at the first intermission.Â
St. Norbert took a 2-0 lead with six minutes remaining in the second and maintained a two-goal lead after 40 minutes.Â
Gustavus opened the third period on the penalty kill, but
Drew Holt broke free and connected with
Wilmer Svensson for a short-handed goal just 34 seconds into the frame. The game went back and forth with both teams getting a number of scoring opportunities, but the score stood at 2-1 until the final two minutes when the Gusties pulled goalie
Colin Androlewicz. St. Norbert then found the empty net on a shot from their own defensive zone with 1:35 left in regulation.Â
Down but not out, the Gusties scored with an extra attacker with 34 seconds on the clock.
Hunter Newhouse tallied his 13th goal of the season, assisted by Svensson, but that proved to be the final goal of the game.Â
Androlewicz made 26 saves and finished his rookie campaign with a 2.42 goals against average and .904 save percentage. The Gusties were dominant on the penalty kill, fending off all six St. Norbert power plays.Â
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