St. Norbert Sweeps UW-Stout in Game at Xcel Energy Center

From Sports Information Director, January 21, 2012 | Men's Hockey
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

ST. PAUL, Minn. - St. Norbert College picked up a sweep in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association for the second consecutive weekend with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over UW-Stout at the Xcel Energy Center.

The game at the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild was part of the annual Hockey Day Minnesota promotion. The Green Knights are 11-4-4 overall and 8-3-1 in the NCHA heading into the third round of the league schedule, with four of the six remaining games coming at the Cornerstone Community Center. Stout dropped to 7-11-1, 3-8-1.

St. Norbert had to rally from a 1-0 deficit after two periods to claim the win. Alain Joanette buried a rebound on the power play 8 minutes 21 seconds into the third period, with Carl Ekstrom and Seth Soley assisting. Johan Ryd then tallied the game-winning goal at 12:06 with assists going to Derek Donohue and Mason Baptista.

Ryd's game-winner was his third of the year and the 12th of his collegiate career, leaving him one short of matching the St. Norbert record of 13 shared by Connor Hughes and Rob Smillie.

St. Norbert killed off a major Stout power play that bridged the first and second periods, the second consecutive night the Green Knights snuffed out a five-minute Blue Devils man advantage. Stout did take a 1-0 lead later in the second period on a goal by Sam Carr at 13:29.

St. Norbert outshot Stout 34-22, including 25-13 over the last two periods. David Jacobson made 21 saves for the Green Knights, while Nick Hopper made 32 stops for the Blue Devils. St. Norbert was 1-for-6 on the power play, while Stout was 0-for-5.