DULUTH, Minn. — Fifteenth-ranked St. Scholastica scored four times in the second period Wednesday and went on to a 6-2 win over Lawrence University in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinals.
Keegan Bruce had a hat trick for the Saints (15-8-3), who advance to the semifinal series Friday at second-ranked Adrian. Josh Koepplinger scored both goals for Lawrence (9-14-3).
The Saints led 2-0 after Bruce scored his second goal of the game just 1:43 into the second period. Koepplinger, a freshman forward, scored 14 seconds later off an assist from Ryan Eardley to slice the lead in half.
St. Scholastica then scored three times in a span of 3:48 to seize control of the game. Josh Hansen scored at the 11:15 mark, and Kristofer McKinzie then made it 4-1 at the 13:06 mark. A bad bounce off the boards gave McKinzie a breakaway two minutes later, and he was tripped up in front of the Lawrence net. He converted a penalty shot, the first against the Vikings since Jan. 13, 2012, to put the Saints up 5-1 at the 15:03 mark.
Koepplinger scored an unassisted goal 2:27 into the third period to cut the lead to 5-2 but that’s as close as the Vikings would get. Bruce added his second power-play goal of the game late in the third to complete the scoring.
Tyler Bruggeman made 27 saves to get the win for St. Scholastica, and Mattias Soderqvist made 31 saves for the Vikings.