The playoff magic that Gustavus Hockey fans had come to expect ran out against #5 St. Norbert last Sat., March 10, as the Golden Gusties fell 4-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals.
The Gusties came into the game riding high on an eight-game winning streak. That streak included a 4-2 win against St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoff Championships and a very strong win over Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The latter victory was one of the Gusties best whole-game performances of the year, as they knocked off #6 ranked MSOE to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
“We came out with a lot of energy tonight,” First-year Defenseman Sam Smith said after the victory over MSOE. “Everybody had great energy, which was a big difference maker in the game.”
The Gusties then had to travel five-plus hours to Green Bay, Wis., to face The Green Knights of St. Norbert, where the energy was decidedly in the home team’s favor.
The Green Knights got on the board first, scoring just three minutes into the contest. While that quick strike was significant, more critical was St. Norbert’s staunch defense.
St. Norbert only allowed the Gusties three shots-on-goal in the first period and would have had a completely dominant first period if not for Junior Blue-Liner Tim LaBombard’s power-play goal. That goal tied the game at one apiece early in the first.
“I was disappointed with our competitive level tonight considering that that has been our M.O. during the last couple of months,” Head Coach Brett Peterson said after the loss. “St. Norbert had a lot to do with that, but it just wasn’t there for some reason or another tonight.”
Entering the third period, the Gusties were lucky to find themselves only down by a 2-1 margin as St. Norbert’s held a heavy 28 to 9 advantage in the shots-on-goal department at that point.
St. Norbert put the game away in the third period, showing how dangerous the defending NCAA Champions can be: they scored two more goals on their way to a 4-1 victory and Frozen Four berth for the eighth time in the last ten seasons.
“It just wasn’t meant to be tonight,” Peterson said after the game. “St. Norbert was better in every aspect tonight. They will represent the west well and my hat goes off to [St. Norbert’s Head Coach Tim Coghlin] and his program.”
While the loss marks the end of the 2011-2012 campaign, it has a silver lining. Yes, the Gustie men will lose their lone senior and MIAC Player of the Year Ross Ring-Jarvi, but they also will retain a lot of young talent—four of the team’s top seven scorers are only sophomores or younger this year.
“We weren’t on anybody’s radar this year and I’m proud of what our guys accomplished this season,” Petersen said. “With a very young group with very limited experience, a lot of times you don’t see a run like we made. I’m disappointed with the loss but happy with how the guys finished this year.”