Statistics
Photo Gallery
More Photos
Video Replay

DE PERE, Wis. -- Only 18 seconds after seeing the game tied up, Jack Christen delivered the deciding score with 12.1 seconds left in regulation to settle a back-and-forth battle and lift St. Norbert College over the University of New England, 5-4, in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship at the Cornerstone Community Center on Saturday night (Mar. 14).

As a result of surviving the tightest contest of the opening round, by far, the Green Knights (22-6-2) [No.8 NCAA Power Index] move on to face the nation's top-ranked squad, Hobart College, in the quarterfinals next Saturday [Interactive Bracket]. The Statesmen (28-0-0) have captured the last three titles.

The Nor'easters [NPI No.9] conclude the year with a 21-7-0 record. The 21 wins tied for the second-highest total in school history; UNE has won at least 17 in eight consecutive seasons.

Deadlocked at 3-3 heading into the 3rd, UNE was building a substantial edge in shots until Braydon Beahm kept a puck in the zone and dodged a couple of defenders to give St. Norbert its first edge since 1-0 with 4:14 remaining on the clock. The Nor'easters pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with 1:28 to go, and despite SNC taking a pair of faceoffs, the pressure finally broke the Green Knights with 30.4 ticks left. Ike Keller chased down a puck behind the net and spun it back to Dominic Murphy along the left wall. While Murphy's low shot was denied at the near post, Nathan Chickering curled in for the rebound and stuffed in his second try for the equalizer.

Destined for overtime, the hosts lost the ensuing faceoff but made one final push up the ice, and Christen corralled a deflected puck in the neutral zone before finding Curtis Hammond on the right wing. Hammond crossed the blue line and sent one skimming ahead of a teammate and through the legs of a UNE player as Christen swooped in on the weak side net front to quickly create space and tuck it inside the right post for the winner.

Hunter Garvey made 13 of his 28 saves in the final stanza to secure the result for St. Norbert.

The wild affair between the two programs that have competed in the most championships from 2018-2026 (6/7), besides Hobart (7/7), got off to a blazing start. Four shots hit the back of the net during the initial 7:22, which each squad experiencing a lead. First, it was Calvin Hanson for the hosts, less than one minute into the match, but Ryan Hadland tapped in a feed through the crease from Braxton Powers at the 2:57 mark to get the visitors on the board. Then Nick Marino snapped the Nor'easters in front (2-1) with a finish on the break, aided by Cam Bergeman and Chip Hamlett. However, 58 seconds later, Logan Dombrowsky slipped one through for SNC on the first power play of the match to knot things back up.

Entering the day operating at 98.9 percent efficiency, the advantaged goal was just the second in 95 chances against the UNE penalty kill this season, and the first in 40 tries since January 17.

Despite being out-shot 13-8 in the opening frame, the Nor'easters regained the lead (3-2) thanks to a near-side spinning wrister by Murphy from the edge of the right circle at the 15:42 mark. Drew Olivieri fed it out of the corner for an assist, after tracking down a shot from Chickering.

Another 5-on-4 goal, this time from Blake Ulve, pulled the Green Knights level (3-3) in the latter stages of the 2nd.

SNC went 2-for-6 on the power play in the contest, while UNE came up empty on its only attempt. The Nor'easter PK wraps the year 97-for-100, which is still in line for a Division III season record, surpassing Hobart's 96.8 percent (3 PPGA) from 2023-24. Entering the day, the next best penalty kill unit in the country was the University of Wisconsin-Stout (92.2%).

Harrison Chesney logged 19 stops between the pipes for the visitors, who received a game-high three blocked shots out of Hamlett.

Murphy and Chickering, along with SNC's Christen, were the only two-point performers between the teams on the night. Keller claimed the most faceoffs (13), and Ulve had the top percentage (11 of 13).

The game outcome was the first time this year that UNE took a blemish when scoring at least three times (18 games), and when leading through 20 minutes (13).

In addition to the program record for penalty kill efficiency, the Nor'easters logged their best-ever scoring defense (1.93) in 2025-26. Chesney's 1.76 goals against average is an individual UNE season mark, just like his five shutouts. Kevin O'Keefe graduates with the most games played by a defenseman, at 107.