The St. Cloud Norsemen completed a road sweep of the Minot Minotauros with a 4-1 Friday win and a 2-0 shutout on Saturday.
Friday night, Norsemen forward and Alaska-Anchorage commit Brandon Lajoie reached 100 career points on a two-goal night, leading St. Cloud to victory.
In Friday’s game, ten players recorded a point in the win.
Minot opened the scoring just 1:08 into the first period to take a 1-0 lead.
St. Cloud grabbed ahold of the lead in the second. Lajoie struck first at 9:12 of the period, a goal assisted by forward Gramm McCormack and defenseman Broten Sabo. Forward Ethan Benz notched the eventual game-winning goal off a feed from defenseman Nick Young and forward Blake Perbix.
The Norsemen put the game on ice in the third, as Lajoie lit the lamp for a second time, firing home the goal for his 100th career point. Forward Peyton Hanson assisted on the goal. Defenseman Chris Lynch scored just over two minutes later to make it a 4-1 game. Benz and forward Jackson Hughes earned assists on the goal.
Goaltender Tomas Bolo made 21 saves in the win, as the Norsemen outshot Minot 39-22. Bolo (28-7-1-0) recorded his 28th win of the season, and is two wins shy of the franchise single-season wins record.
On Saturday night, the Norsemen battled the Minotauros for nearly 29 scoreless minutes, peppering Minot with shots, before finally breaking through. Perbix fired home a power play goal at 8:37 of the second, off a feed from March NAHL Forward of the Month and league leading scorer Ryan O’Neill (St. Thomas) and defenseman Evan Murr.
Murr, a Minnesota State commit, tossed in an empty net goal assisted by O’Neill, to put the game on ice at 2-0 with :28 left in the game.
The two assists for O’Neill keep him tied atop the NAHL in scoring with 76 points. O’Neill is the franchise all-time leading scorer with 142 points in his career.
Goaltender Ethan Dahlmeir (9-5-1-1) recorded his fourth shutout of the season, making 29 saves in the win, as the Norsemen outshot Minot 50-29.
St. Cloud (39-16-2-1) are not only Central Division regular season champions, but are one win shy of the franchise single-season wins record of 40 set in the 2011-12 season (in Alexandria, MN).
The Norsemen wrap up the regular season with a home-and-home series against North Iowa, on the road Friday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m., and back home on Saturday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday is Fan Appreciation Night with a $2 beer special on Coors and Coors Light. The Norsemen will also recognize the team’s Host Families at intermission and thank them for all they do to support the St. Cloud Norsemen players.
Don’t miss the action Saturday night! Get your seats now online at tickets.stcloudnorsemen.com