APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men's hockey team scored three times in the second period to erase a four-goal deficit, but St. Olaf College responded with two late goals to hand the Vikings a 6-3 setback Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
St. Olaf struck early, scoring just 2:07 into the opening period. The Oles added a power-play goal at 5:57 before extending their lead to 3-0 at the 7:23 mark. Lawrence was unable to find the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes.
St. Olaf pushed its advantage to four with another power-play goal at 6:40 of the second period, but Lawrence responded with three consecutive goals to make it a one-goal game.
Roman Cherniak got the Vikings on the board with a power-play goal at 7:42. Kenny Sutton followed at 10:45, cutting the deficit to 4-2 with his first goal of the season. PJ Noonan and Ethan Johnson picked up assists on the play.
Lawrence continued its push late in the period when Mason Johnson scored at 17:15 to bring the Vikings within one. Noonan recorded his second assist of the night on the goal, as Lawrence headed into the third period trailing 4-3.
The Vikings outshot St. Olaf 17-7 in the second period, generating several opportunities during their comeback effort.
Lawrence looked to complete the rally in the final period, but the Oles kept the Vikings off the scoreboard. St. Olaf added two goals in the final minute, scoring at 19:11 and 19:36 to secure the 6-3 victory.
Sutton, Cherniak and Mason Johnson each scored for Lawrence. Noonan finished with two assists, while Ethan Johnson added an assist. Nolan Mahaffey recorded 21 saves in goal.
Lawrence finished with 25 shots on goal, including 17 in the second period, while St. Olaf recorded 27.
