A tie against No. 12 Minnesota may have been disappointing for St. Lawrence, which held a 2-0 lead with 90 seconds to play, but the players and coaches continue to focus on learning how to play together as a team.
“We had tremendous growth in this game,” said Saints coach Mark Morris. “We didn’t match lines, we just played guys, and they went out and did a heck of a job.”
The Saints led 2-0 late in the third after a Gavin Bayreuther short-handed goal 6:41 into the third, before Minnesota pulled Eric Schierhorn in favor of an extra attacker. Mike Szmatula scored both extra attacker goals for the Gophers to earn the tie a night after Minnesota came back from three goals down to beat Clarkson 4-3 in overtime. Ryan Lough had the first goal for St. Lawrence.
After last night’s 5-2 loss to Wisconsin, where Morris saw mistakes from young players in unfamiliar situations, one thing was different to the veteran coach.
“For me, the compete level was there,” Morris said. “A lot of time, when the compete level is there, you don’t see as many errors. We had our share of turnovers and youthful mistakes, but we also had huge effort that helped erase some of the glitches.”
“Last night we played 45 minutes and then we started turning the pucks over and Wisconsin started taking it to us, and tonight we played 59 minutes and then at 6-on-5, Minnesota started taking it to us,” said Saints captain Alex Dahl.
Another promising sign for the Saints was the performance of Kyle Hayton, whose numbers so far were much worse than his career statistics. Prior to addressing the media, Gophers coach Don Lucia acknowledged Hayton’s play, saying with a smile, “I guess they found their all-American goaltender!”
Her further praised Hayton, and the St. Lawrence defense, saying, “Obviously, guys are frustrated when you have 30 shots and no goals. The way [Hayton] was playing tonight, he’s going to make the save if he can see it.”
Hayton finished with 42 saves in the tie, including 16 in both of the first two periods.
“Hayton was sensational,” said Morris. “It’s a bummer to not be rewarded for all the good things we did.
“Hayton battled his butt off all night,” said Dahl. “To leave him out to dry like that is unacceptable.”
“I think we have to look at it immediately and turn it into motivation,” said Bayreuther, before focusing on the positives in the game, like the penalty kill and the fact that they held the Gophers scoreless for 59 minutes.
“We’re learning how to play together,” Morris concluded. “We may have lost our way for a little bit, but it was encouraging to know that when we really apply ourselves, we should be able to win our fair share of hockey games.”
ECAC roundup
Union 3, Rensselaer 2
Mike Vecchione’s overtime goal propelled Union to a 3-2 win over rival RPI and a season sweep. Riley Bourbonnais tied the game for RPI early in the third period.
No. 17 Yale 4, Sacred Heart 1
The Bulldogs scored four straight goals to earn a come-from-behind win against Sacred Heart. Four different players scored for Yale, including John Hayden on the power play.
Princeton 5, at USA U-18 4
Eric Robinson scored the game-winning goal for the Tigers in overtime to earn Princeton the win against the U.S. Under-18 team. Princeton trailed 3-0 after the first period.
Colgate 5, Maine 3
Willie Brooks’ first goal of the year with 4 minutes remaining in the third was the difference maker for Colgate, which picked up their first win of the season over Maine.
Wisconsin 5, Clarkson 4
A Golden Knights’ rally came up just short, as Jordan Boucher, who scored a hat trick, brought Clarkson within one of Wisconsin late in the third. Matt Jurusik made 24 saves for the Badgers.
Dartmouth 3, Michigan 2
Troy Crema scored with 49 seconds left in the third to give the Big Green a victory over Michigan. Kevin Neiley and Cam Strong also scored for Dartmouth.
No. 13 Harvard at Arizona State
(LATE GAME)
