Christen’s last-second heroics lift St. Norbert past New England in NCAA Tournament thriller

Nor'easters tie the game with 30 seconds to play before Green Knights erupt the crowd in celebration

DE PERE, Wis. — Jack Christen scored with just 12.1 seconds remaining in regulation to lift St. Norbert to a 5-4 victory over New England in a breathtaking opening-round matchup of the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament on Saturday night.

Christen’s game-winner at the Cornerstone Community Center came just 18 seconds after New England had stunned the home crowd by tying the game with an extra-attacker goal. The rapid-fire sequence of goals in the final minute sent the Green Knights (22-6-2) to the national quarterfinals and left the Nor'easters (21-7-0) in heartbreak.

The final two minutes of play featured a lifetime of drama. Trailing 4-3 after St. Norbert’s Braydon Beahm dazzled the defense with an impressive stick-handling display to score at 15:46. New England pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker with 1:22 remaining.

The Nor'easters unleashed a desperate barrage, recording four shots in a 13-second span. Nathan Chickering finally broke through with 30.4 seconds left, recovering his own rebound after an initial save by Hunter Garvey to knot the score at 4-4.

However, the momentum shifted instantly on the ensuing faceoff. St. Norbert raced down the ice, and Christen fired a shot into the back of the net at 19:47.9, sending the Green Knight faithful into a frenzy. New England then challenged the goal, stating St. Norbert was offside. They lost the challenge and were assessed a 2-minute minute which forced them to pull the goalie. The Green Knights won the faceoff and ran the clock out.

The game was a back-and-forth affair from the opening whistle. Calvin Hanson put St. Norbert on the board just 56 seconds into the first period, but New England responded with goals from Ryan Hadland and Nick Marino to take a 2-1 lead. There were four lead changes throughout the second and third frames, with Blake Ulve and Logan Dombrowsky converting on the man-advantage for the Green Knights.

St. Norbert finished 2-for-6 on the power play, while their penalty kill successfully turned away the Nor'easters' only man-advantage opportunity. Garvey earned the win in net with 28 saves, while Harrison Chesney made 19 stops for New England in the losing effort.

With the victory, St. Norbert advances to face undefeated and No. 1-ranked Hobart in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals next Saturday at 7 pm ET.