By Rich Palzewic
Contributing Writer
DE PERE – For the second consecutive night, the St. Nobert College men’s hockey team waited
until late in the game to pull out a victory.
A night after escaping with a 4-3 overtime win over Lake Forest on Nov. 3, the Green Knights
did it again the following night in a 3-2 victory to sweep the Northern Collegiate Hockey
Association (NCHA) series over the Foresters at the Cornerstone Community Center in
Ashwaubenon.
“Playing five games in eight days, it’s taxing on the guys, especially with some injuries creeping
into our locker room,” Associate Head Coach Ryan Petersen said. “Our guys persevered and got
back into the mix in that third period.”
Trailing 2-0 late in the second period, Carter Hottmann’s wrist shot pulled the Green Knights (3-
2 overall, 2-0 NCHA) to within a goal.
With 40 seconds remaining in the period, it appeared Lake Forest (2-2, 0-2) scored to go up 3-1,
but the referee ruled the puck was kicked in, negating the tally.
Gustav Portillo tied it 2-2 on the power play 6 1/2 minutes into the final period following a
Foresters’ penalty.
Portillo’s one-timer from the right wing came six seconds into the man advantage.
“Portillo had a few good looks in the first period, but (Lake Forest goalie Dylan Kruss) made
some good saves,” Petersen said.
A minute later, St. Norbert goalie Hunter Garvey made a good save on a two-on-one Lake
Forest rush to keep the game tied.
St. Norbert’s T.J. Koufis recorded the game-winner with nine minutes remaining after Kruss was
out of position and couldn’t get back into the crease in time.
Garvey made another strong save two minutes later to preserve the victory.
“Garvey had some tight areas around the net in the first period where some shots got behind
him,” Petersen said. “He settled in as the game went on. He can make those saves when he gets
lateral.”
Lake Forest jumped out to a 2-0 lead after first-period goals from Griffen Sanom and Chase
Freiermuth.
The Green Knights couldn’t take advantage of a short five-on-three power play late in the first
period and subsequent man-advantage opportunity to begin the second period.
St. Norbert outshot the Foresters by a 38-26 margin.
Garvey recorded 24 saves on the night.
Playing five games in eight days to begin the season, the Green Knights will now take a seven-
hour trip to Trine University Nov. 10-11 for a pair of NCHA games.
“Our guys get a chance to refocus,” Petersen said. “We played four different opponents in our
first five games, so now we get to lock into a series on the road.”
Nov. 3 win
In the first game of the series, Lake Forest took a 3-1 lead into the third period before Adam
Stacho single-handily brought St. Norbert back.
Stacho scored a goal halfway through the final period and tallied another with less than two
minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game 3-3.
Stacho’s game-winner with 13 seconds left in overtime sealed the comeback win.