Marian University men’s hockey (18-9-1, 13-7-0 NCHA) was shut out by No. 12 St. Norbert 2-0 to close the season.
St. Norbert was able to control play the opening minutes of the first period. The Green Knights were able to open the scoring at the 11:53 mark with an odd-man rush. St. Norbert quickly added to their lead just 1:42 later forcing a Marian timeout. The Sabre timeout proved to be a good one as the Sabres were able to bounce back and battle back the remainder of the period. Marian would only be outshot 9-8 in the period but were unable to break through with a goal.
Marian was able to fight off a pair of Green Knight power plays to open the second period before the Sabre power play took the ice with a 5-on-3 advantage. The Sabres were able to force pressure on the SNC goalie, but a couple of bad bounces prevented Marian from finding the scoreboard.
The final period saw both defenses step up with each team sending seven shots on goal. The Green Knights would hold off 2:49 of extra-attacker time to preserve the shutout and advance to the NCHA Harris Cup championship.
The Green Knights finished with a 29-26 advantage in shots with senior Hunter Vorva (15-7-1) stopping 27 of the shots he faced. Vorva would go on to stop the final 22 shots he St. Norbert sent his way. Sophomore Gianni Vitali paced the offense for Marian with a team-high four shots.
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