St. Norbert Heads to Lake Placid With Overtime Win over St. Thomas

From Sports Information Director, March 15, 2008 | Men's Hockey
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

GREEN BAY - Ryan Petersen scored the overtime game-winner as St. Norbert College defeated the University of St. Thomas 2-1 in a NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinal game at the Cornerstone Community Center.

Petersen's game-winner came 8 minutes 18 seconds into overtime. Petersen actually tried a centering pass but the puck ended up bouncing off the back of St. Thomas goaltender Tyler Chestnut and trickled over the goalline.

The Green Knights set a school record with their 27th consecutive game without a loss, going 23-0-4 since a 4-2 loss to Gustavus Adolphus on Nov. 3.

St. Norbert will play Norwich on March 22 in a national semifinal at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y.

It was St. Norbert's fourth overtime win of the year, tying an NCAA Division III season record. The Green Knights are 4-0-4 in overtime games this season.

St. Norbert outshot the Tommies 4-0 in overtime and held a commanding 37-22 advantage in shots on goal in the game.

St. Norbert held off a late St. Thomas flurry at the end of regulation. St. Norbert goaltender Kyle Jones had lost his stick, and a drive from the point with about 20 seconds left toward an open net hit a prone St. Norbert defender's leg and bounced into the corner.

The Green Knights drew first blood 7:01 into the game when Mike Bernardy had a blast from the point and through a couple of screens to slip the puck past Chestnut.

St. Thomas capitalized on the first shift of the second period to tie the game. St. Norbert turned the puck over at the St. Thomas blue line, and Nick Pernula beat Jones topside just 22 seconds into the period for the equalizer.

St. Thomas had the game's first power play midway through the second period and didn't score. St. Norbert was 0-for-3 on the power play, coming up empty twice in the second period and once in the last five minutes of the third period. The game featured the two top penalty killing units in Division III.

Jones made 21 saves for his 85th career win. Chestnut turned in a 35-save performance in the loss for the Tommies.