Vikings fall to St. Norbert in playoff opener

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Top-ranked St. Norbert College downed Lawrence University 5-0 on Friday in the opening game of a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series.

The teams will meet again Saturday night at the Cornerstone Community Center, and all the No. 1-ranked Green Knights need is a tie to wrap up the series.

Brandon Hoogenboom scored a pair of goals, and David Jacobson was forced to make only 12 saves to record the shutout for St. Norbert (22-3-1). Mattias Soderqvist stopped 41 shots and took the loss for Lawrence (6-18-2).

After a scoreless first period, St. Norbert got on the board with a power-play goal. Joe Perry scored 4:49 into the second period to give the Green Knights a 1-0 lead. St. Norbert then picked up a goal from Ross Pavek with just 2:30 left in the second for a 2-0 lead heading into the third.

Hoogenboom scored at the 9:01 mark of the third to push the lead to 3-0, and St. Norbert finished the scoring when Hoogenboom and Michael Hill both scored in the final three minutes.

Box score