DE PERE, Wisc. – The Manhattanville College men’s hockey team became the first team all season to hold a lead against consensus #1 St. Norbert College on Friday night, but the Valiants could not hold onto a two-goal third-period lead and had to settle for a 2-2 (OT) tie with the Green Knights in non-conference action at the Cornerstone Community Center.
Junior co-captain Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) and classmate Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) had the goals for Manhattanville (3-1-2), which built up a two-goal lead after two periods of play. However, St. Norbert (6-0-1) took advantage of two power-play chances in the third period to knot the score and escape with a tie.
Manhattanville put together an excellent first period against the nation’s top team, firing 21 shots on the goal of SNC netminder T.J. Black. The visitors flew around the ice and established a fast pace to the detriment of the home team, which entered the night averaging only 26.3 shots allowed per game.
The Valiants got on the board 12:02 into the opening stanza on the first power-play chance of the evening, when Berglund fired a one-time rocket into the net off a cross-ice feed from senior Thimmy Garbenius (Nykvarn, Sweden/Sodertalje SK (SWE)). Junior Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) also made several big saves to keep the Green Knights off the scoreboard, including one stop on a shorthanded breakaway attempt.
While the second period was more evenly contested, Manhattanville managed to double its lead midway through the frame. Berglund did the hard work behind the goal line to win the puck, and he fed out front for Lippa, who put the puck over the shoulder of Black to give the visitors a two-goal advantage at the 10:21 mark. The Valiants ended the period with that two-goal lead despite being outshot 15-8 in the middle stanza.
St. Norbert played like a desperate team in the third period, keeping the Valiants on their heels from the opening faceoff. The home team got back within a goal after a power-play score from Roman Ochyn 2:06 into the frame to halve the deficit. Penalties came back to haunt to the Valiants again later in the period, as the Green Knights tied the score with 4:00 left in the third period on a Keegan Milligan power-play goal.
Feaver had a good night between the pipes for the Valiants, finishing the evening with 41 saves – the second-highest total of his career. He stopped at least 13 shots in all three periods in keeping the Valiants in the game. Black turned aside 35 shots for the home team, which outshot the visitors by a 43-37 margin.
Manhattanville and St. Norbert will complete their two-game series tomorrow at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. EST).
