D-III West Wrap: Thunder picks up big win

Brandon Krumpschmid and the Trine hockey team stunned St. Norbert Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Trine Athletics)

Trine made program history Saturday night, winning its first ever game over a nationally ranked opponent.

The Thunder stunned St. Norbert 2-0 in an NCHA battle thanks to a third-period goal by Brendan Prappas. Brandon Krumpschmid added an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Trine is now 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference with the impressive shutout win over the 10th-ranked Green Knights.

Brett Young rose to the occasion between the pipes, stopping 24 shots, including 11 in the third. He has two shutouts on the year.

The win allowed Trine to bounce back from Friday’s 5-3 loss to St. Norbert. Trine led 3-1 before St. Norbert ralllied for the victory. Prappas scored twice in the loss.

Here is a look at some of the other highlights from the weekend in the west region.

Blugolds Win Showdown: It was a matchup one might see in the playoffs. Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Augsburg battling it out in a showdown of nationally ranked teams.

In the end, after two scoreless periods, the Blugolds took control in the third. Nathan Dingmann scored the game winner with less than five minutes to play. Steen Cooper added an empty-net goal with just seconds remaining in a 3-1 win.

John Richards scored the first goal for eighth-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire. Fourth-ranked Augsburg later tied it on a goal by Patrick O’Connor.

Zach Dyment remains unbeaten between the pipes. He’s now 3-0-1 after stopping 21 shots for the Blugolds, who have won their last four games and sport a 4-0-1 record.

They have scored 19 goals on the year and are 2-0 away from home. 

Augsburg suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 5-1. Daniil Gerasimov made 32 saves. He’s 2-1 on the year. O’Connor’s goal was his first of the season.

Impressive First Win: Northland scored just two goals in its first two games of the season but raised its offensive production to another level Friday in a 5-0 win over Bethel. 

Daneil Chartrand scored twice to pace Northand (1-2). Kyle Pouncy, Ty Kraus and Marshall Nikitin all had a goal and an assist. 

Taylor Unruh made 25 saves for his first shutout of the year. It’s the first time this season that Northland hasn’t allowed a goal.

Pointer Power: Wisconsin-Stevens Point scored four goals in the second period to fuel their 6-4 win over Saint John’s Friday night in Minnesota. The reigning national champs added an insurance goal in the third.

Zach Zech and Dan Kiraly scored two goals apiece for the fifth-ranked Pointers, who trailed 2-1 early in the second but ended the period with a 5-4 advantage.

Ryan Mackellar tallied a goal and an assist and Drew McLean dished out a pair of assists.Jake Theis punched in his first career goal in the win.Eli Billing tallied 31 saves as the Pointers remained unbeaten on the road.

Sweep Success for Cardinals: After a 3-2 overtime victory over Concordia Friday night, the Cardinals capped a big weekend with a 5-0 win over the Cobbers in MIAC play. 

Nikita Sheberov and Ian Currie both scored their first goals of their careers and Kyle Meeh scored twice. Nick Nast nailed down his second career shutout, coming through with 26 saves along the way.

The sweep of the Cobbers is the first for the Cardinals since 2010. They are also the first two wins of the season. Saint Mary’s is 2-3-1 overall and 2-0 in the MIAC.

Shutout Win: Cam Buggrabe stepped up big for St. Thomas in its 1-0 win over St. Olaf Friday night. Buggrabe stopped 19 shots in the victory.

The Tommies completed the series sweep Saturday with a 9-3 victory.

St. Thomas is unbeaten in its last five games. They are 4-1-1 on the year. Buggrabe is 3-0 and has 75 saves.

Saints Shine: Saint Scholastica won its first game in style Saturday, taking out the Milwaukee School of Engineering 3-1.

After playing the Raiders to a 1-1 tie Friday, the Saints jumped out in front early on a goal by Zack DeBoom.

Tyler Hinster pushed the lead to 2-0 on the 13th-ranked team in the nation.

Jordan Fralich scored the final goal for Saint Scholastica, which improved to 1-4-1 overall and  1-2-1 in the NCHA. MSOE suffered its first loss after a 5-0 start.

Zane Steeves made 36 saves in the win and had a total of 67 on the weekend.