SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team kicked off its 2021-22 campaign Friday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink and suffered a 5-2 non-conference loss to Lawrence.
The Vikings started the scoring 8:15 into the first and gained a 2-0 advantage four minutes later. The Gusties ended the shutout 8:52 into the second as Patrick Gazich (Sr., Minnetonka) scored an even-strength goal with the help of Dan Sandvig (Sr., Savage) and Stanislav Danaev (So., Moscow, Russia). The Vikings took advantage of a power play at the 6:41 mark to regain a two-goal lead. Lawrence added its fourth goal with 2:31 left in the frame and held a 4-1 lead at the second intermission.
Jack Suchy (Fy., Medina) scored his first career goal 1:27 into the third with assists from Brandon McNamara (Fy., Andover) and Brendan Elliott (Sr., Marquette, Mich.), but the Vikings answered 22 seconds later for a 5-2 advantage, which held on for a final.
The Gusties outshot the Vikings 40-26 and were 0-for-2 on the power play. Lawrence went 1-for-5 on the man advantage. Justin Damon (Jr., St. Michael) suffered the loss after making 21 saves.
Game two of the series begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at Don Roberts Ice Rink.