First-year forward Johnny Panvica scored one second left in overtime Friday night to give St. Thomas a 4-3 men’s hockey victory at home over St. Olaf.
It was Panvica’s second goal of the game, coming off a pass from Jack Christensen. Brett Gravelle got the first assist.
It lifted St. Thomas to a 10-3-2 record in the MIAC, 12-7-5 overall.
Forward Michael Dockry scored the first goal, with assists from Tanner Barnes and Thomas Williams, to give the Tommies a 1-0 at 10:32 of the first period. Back to back penalties forced the Tommies to play strong defense for the remainder of the first period.
The energy picked up in the second period when both teams came out flying. St. Thomas received a penalty for slashing that led to St. Olaf’s first goal scored by forward Steven Sherman.
Two power play goals were scored in the second period. The first by Panvica put the Tommies on top until St. Olaf forward Will Dittrich returned the favor once again forcing a tie.
The third period also supplied a pair of goals, the first by St. Thomas forward Broydon Stufko, and the second by St. Olaf defensemen Tuukka Totro, which took the game into overtime.
St. Thomas goaltender Andrew Rohkohl played an aggressive game and made multiple critical saves. With one second left in overtime Panvica got a hold of the puck just in time to score the game winning goal for the Tommies.
“I was surprised, I kind of thought time was winding down and didn’t know if I made it before the buzzer or not,” Panvica said.
Senior forward Thomas Williams was surprised by the last second goal and happy to see the team’s effort pay off.
“That doesn’t happen too often there in the last second, we stuck with it the whole game and it was good to get rewarded,” Williams said.
St. Thomas concluded senior night with a quick ceremony that honored the nine seniors on the team and a 4-3 win over St. Olaf.
“They are a pretty special group, they are good kids and good students and they work really hard,” said head coach Jeff Boeser. “They are all ready to get out in the world and will be successful so I’m proud of them.”
Lauren Knisley can be reached at knis1243@stthomas.edu