Brady Heppner_Steve Frommell
Freshman forward Brady Heppner (courtesy of Steve Frommell, D3photography.com)
3
Winner Saint John's Univ. SJU 7-4-2
2
St. Scholastica CSS 5-6-0
Winner
Saint John's Univ. SJU
7-4-2
3
Final
2
St. Scholastica CSS
5-6-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 F
Saint John's Univ. SJU 0 2 0 1 3
St. Scholastica CSS 1 1 0 0 2

Game Recap: Hockey |

Heppner's Heroics Give SJU a 3-2 Overtime Win at St. Scholastica


Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – Freshman forward Brady Heppner's (Crookston, Minn.) second goal of the game, with 24 seconds left in overtime, gave Saint John's a 3-2 non-conference win at St. Scholastica on Saturday, Dec. 10, in Duluth.

A shot from freshman defenseman Cole Souto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) went wide and deflected into the corner, where senior forward Dan McNamara (Grand Rapids, Mich.) gained control and fed Heppner, who skated in on front, dipped behind traffic and ripped a shot to the top-left corner to give SJU (7-4-2, 3-2-1 MIAC) the win. McNamara had a hand in all three goals for a career-high, three-point (1g/2a) night.

Steven Phee stuffed in a rebound to give CSS (5-6-0, 3-3-0 NCHA) a 1-0 lead with 3:39 left in the first period.

Heppner took advantage of a 2-on-1 to tie the game at 1-1 5:10 into the second period. Freshman defenseman Kyle Wagner (St. Francis, Minn.) registered the first assist, thanks to his initial shot on net that rolled off the back of the goaltender to Heppner on the back post, and McNamara added the second. Wagner played forward and the Johnnies dressed seven others at defenseman Saturday night due to injuries.

Kristofer McKenzie gave the lead back to the Saints with a turnaround shot at the 11:00 mark of the second, but McNamara tied the game on a one-timer from junior forward Sam Valerius (Maple Grove, Minn.) with 8:31 left in the frame. Wagner was credited with the second assist.

Senior goaltender Tyler Nelson (Champlin, Minn.) made 29 saves, including a denial on a breakaway from Phee after his penalty expired with 6:40 left in regulation, to improve to 4-2-1 on the year.

For the time under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller, and for SJU since 2005-06, the Johnnies have seven wins before Christmas break. Schueller is now one win away from 100 in his nine-season coaching career at SJU (99-97-24 record).

The Johnnies return to the ice in the New Year with a 7 p.m. non-conference game against Wisconsin-River Falls on Thursday, Jan. 5, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.



 
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