Senior Keith Detlefsen fires a shot at the net from near the blue line.
Senior Steve Dusich is hounded from behind by a Lawrence defender.
Junior John Arundel plays the puck just ahead of a Lawrence player.
Junior John Arundel plays the puck Sophomore Tim Ornell fights through the stick of a Viking player.
Led by a pair of goals by sophomore forward Ben Ollila (Lino Lakes, Minn.), the Gustavus men’s hockey team picked up its fifth straight victory, downing Lawrence 5-2 on Saturday in St. Peter as part of the Gustavus Hockey Showcase. Gustavus improves to 8-2 overall, while Lawrence falls to 3-7-2. St. Olaf and UM-Crookston played to a 4-4 tie in the Showcase’s other game on Saturday.
Junior defenseman Jon Keseley (St. Louis Park, Minn.) gave Gustavus a 1-0 lead just over six minutes into the game when he placed a puck past Viking netminder Andrew Isaac. Forwards John Arundel (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Steve Dusich (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) were credited with assists on the play. Keseley extended his point-scoring streak to 11 games.
The one goal lead stood through the first intermission, but was extended to two only 74 seconds into the second period when Loren Havemeier (Sleepy Eye, Minn.) netted his seventh goal of the season. Sophomore Ian Wolff (Chanhassen, Minn.) and freshman Mike Carr (Mahtomedi, Minn.) each tallied an assist. Near the midpoint of the period, Lawrence responded with a pair of goals in the span of one minute, 14 seconds to the the score at two. Mason Oakes netted the first Viking goal off assists from Joe Searl and Ted Greeley, while freshman Blake Royle tied the game on a shot from the blue line that sailed over Gustie goalie John Paszkiewicz’s left shoulder and into the net.
The Gusties took the lead back with 7:36 remaining in the period when Ollila lit the lamp for the first time in the evening on a shorthanded goal. Dusich assisted on the goal, which was scored after Wolff was sent to the penalty box following an interference call.
Forward Sami Idris (So., Gothenburg, Sweden) extended the Gustavus lead to 4-2 with a goal early in the third period before Ollila capped off the scoring in the game’s final two minutes with his second goal of the evening.
Paszkiewicz (Fr., Richfield, Minn.) picked up 17 saves in his first action of the season, moving to 1-0-0. Isaac notched 33 saves in the loss, dropping to 1-4-2 in net on the season.
Gustavus will face UM-Crookston on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the final game of the Gustavus Hockey Showcase. Lawrence and St. Olaf will kick off Sunday’s action when they clash on Don Roberts Ice Rink at 1 p.m.