The Saints got goals from Tyler Cristall, Isack Bandu, and Frankie Carogioiello en route to a 3-2 lead, and Gunnar Thoreson sealed the game with two empty-netters to give the St. Lawrence University men's hockey team a 5-2 win over Vermont in their home-opener on Sunday afternoon in Appleton Arena.

With the win, the Saints improved to 1-3-0, while the Catamounts dropped to 1-1-0.

Cristall opened the scoring in the game with a 5-on-3 goal at 7:14 of the first period. Isaac Tremblay and Filip Juříček combined to get the puck to Cristall on the wing. The senior's first shot was stopped but he quickly collected the rebound and buried the chance to go up 1-0.

Vermont answered with a power-play goal of its own from Massimo Lombardi late in the frame to knot the game at one.



In the second, Bandu gave the Saints a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the season. The senior defender had the puck at the point where his shot was also knocked down, but he stayed with the play and wired a shot through Aiden Wright for the 2-1 lead just before the second intermission. Andrew Brown and Sam LeDrew assisted on the goal giving LeDrew his first career assist.

Carogioiello extended the lead to 3-1 at 9:49 of the third for his first goal as a Saint. The forward blocked a Catamount shot that ricocheted to Cooper Pierson. The first-year skipped a pass back to Carogioiello, who roofed his shot to gain the two-goal lead.

Vermont's Ethan Burroughs cut the deficit to one with a goal at 13:32, but Thoreson responded with two goals in the final two minutes. With Wright on the bench for the extra-attacker, Thoreson netted his first goal with a minute and 37 seconds to go, then earned his second moments later with 26 seconds left to put the game on ice.

Cayden Casey picked up two assists on the goals, while Carogioiello and Luke Santilli also picked up helpers. The assist was the first collegiate point for Santilli.

Mason Kucenski made 37 saves in the winning effort, while Wright stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced.

St. Lawrence finished 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Catamounts scored on their lone chance.

The Skating Saints will be back in action next Thursday, October 16, when the team heads to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame in a 7:05 p.m. matchup.