APPLETON, Wis. - Marian University NCAA men's hockey (9-15-1, 4-10-2-2 NCHA) clinched the No. 7 seed for the NCHA Harris Cup after 4-4 tie and 1-0 shootout victory at Lawrence.
- The Sabres got out to a dominating start scoring three goals in the first 4:01 of action.
- Junior Daunte Fortner opened the scoring just 1:22 in with his fourth goal of the season.
- Senior Adam Nobes continued his hot stretch netting his sixth goal of the season and fellow senior Blake Kleiner scored 54 seconds later to put the Sabres ahead 3-0.
- Lawrence would strike on the power play with just 5:55 left to put the Sabre lead at 3-1 after 20 minutes.
- Another Viking power-play score opened the second period and was the lone tally as Marian went into the third ahead 3-2.
- Marian was able to finally find the back of the net again at the 7:41 mark of the third when Kleiner netted his second of the game.
- The two-goal Marian lead didn't last long, however, as the Vikings scored just 58 seconds later to put the score at 4-3.
- Then with just 2:59 to play, Lawrence found an equalizer to send the game to overtime.
- The extra session saw the Vikings out shoot Marian and come up empty on a power-play chance as the two squads went to a shootout.
- The first four shots of the shootout were turned away before senior Jordan Simoneau lit the lamp on the third Sabre attempt.
- A save from senior Aaron Brunn in the final Viking attempt would earn Marian two points on the night.
- Lawrence outshot Marian 39-37 for the game with each team recording 36 shots in regulation.
- Each team had five penalties with Lawrence scoring twice on the power play and Marian once.
- Lawrence had the edge in face offs by a 46-34 margin.
- The Vikings claim possession of the Battle of Highway 41 trophy for the second time in the past three seasons.
- Four of the past five meetings between the two squads have gone to overtime with three needing a shootout.
- Marian finishes in a tie for seventh in the NCHA standings and will travel to St. Norbert for the opening round of the NCHA Harris Cup.
