BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
DE PERE – The St. Norbert College hockey team opened its 2018 season exactly how it ended last year – with a win.
The No. 1-ranked Green Knights skated past the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) 5-0 in an Oct. 27 non-conference game at the Cornerstone Community Center.
It was St. Norbert’s 13th consecutive win dating back to last season.
Before the game, the Green Knights revealed the banner from its NCAA Division III national championship from a season ago.
St. Norbert won the title with a 3-2 double-overtime win over Salve Regina on March 24 in Lake Placid, New York.
“I thought we came out with a lot of detail and worked hard,” said St. Norbert assistant coach Andy Brandt. “As we added a few goals, the detail slipped a little bit, mainly on our breakouts and our turnovers offensively. All in all, it was a good start.”
The Green Knights wasted little time in jumping out to a 1-0 lead after Kurt Black scored just 3:27 into the game.
Peyton Frantti followed that up with another tally near the end of the period to put St. Norbert up a pair.
In a fast-moving opening period, the Green Knights peppered MSOE goalie Rock Boynton with 14 shots on goal.
Roman Uchyn scored on a one-timer 7 minutes into the second period before Riley Christensen tapped in a loose puck in the crease for a 4-0 Green Knights’ lead.
Brendon Gysbers scored his first collegiate marker with 4 minutes left to end the scoring.
Goalie T.J. Black made 14 saves in net to record his 13th career shutout.
“T.J. was really good,” added Brandt. “He didn’t face a lot of tough chances, but he was fantastic with his rebound control.”
Peter Bates had two assists, while Chase Mickelson, Steven Mather, Keegan Milligan, Gysbers, Luke Davison, Brad Pung and Frantti added helpers.
St. Norbert will be on the road for the next four games before hosting UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point on consecutive nights Nov. 16-17.
Box score
MSOE: 0, 0, 0 – 0
St. Norbert: 2, 2, 1 – 5
First period: 1, SNC, Kurt Black (Chase Mickelson, Steven Mather), 3:27; 2, SNC, Peyton Frantti (Keegan Milligan, Brendon Gysbers), 17:47.
Second period: 3, SNC, Roman Uchyn (Peter Bates, Luke Davison), 6:52 (pp); 4, SNC, Riley Christensen (Bates, Brad Pung), 15:47.
Third period: 5, SNC, Gysbers (Frantti), 14:17.
Shots on goal: MSOE: 5, 3, 6 – 14; SNC: 14, 15, 7 – 36.
Goalies: MSOE: Rock Boynton (36 shots, 31 saves); SNC: T.J. Black (14 shots, 14 saves).
Penalties: MSOE: 6-12; SNC: 5-18.
Power-play opportunities: MSOE: 0-for-3; SNC: 1-for-4.