St. Scholastica comes back to take men's hockey opener

The Pipers (0-1) took a 4-3 third period lead when sophomore forward Joe Long scored his second goal of the game just seven seconds into the period.

But the Saints (1-0) netted the equalizer five minutes later on an A.J. Tucker goal. Matt Stengl added the game-winner at 12:13, and Kris Boyce scored insurance with a tally at 17:31.

The two teams traded first period goal. St. Scholastica struck first with a Joey Nigro power-play goal at 5:35. Sophomore Steve Festler answered two minutes later on the power play to knot the score at 1-1.

The Saints would gain 3-1 lead in the second period on goals by Joey Martini. Long would score his first goal of the game to make it 3-2, and Michael McDonough scored at the 19:11 mark of the third period to tie the game at the second intermission.

Hamline sophomore Dustin Fulton dished out three assists in the contest, while first-year Jimmy VanAsch had two assists in the game.

First-year goaltender Matt Wanvig made 38 saves for the Pipers. Steve Bounds stopped 13 shots for St. Scholastica.

The Pipers will play at UW-Superior on Saturday night. The puck will drop at 7:05 p.m.