CANTON, N.Y. – Isack Bandu scored with 11 seconds left in the second period to give St. Lawrence a lead they would never relinquish in a 5-2 non-conference win, including two empty-netters, over Vermont Sunday evening at Appleton Arena in the Saints Home Opener.

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Box Score

COACH'S QUOTE
"Credit to SLU, they played a very structured game and frustrated us," said Head Coach Steve Wiedler. "The areas we need to clean up were very noticeable. We can't go down 3v5, can't give up a late goal in the second period, and can't turn it over in the third to go down two. We had some bright spots. This group has a lot of talent. We need to harness it and get ready for St. Cloud."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints opened the scoring 7:13 into the first period on a five-on-three power play. UVM's Aiden Wright made five saves during the two-man advantage but SLU's Tyler Cristall stashed home his own rebound for his second goal of the season to make it 1-0.
• Vermont answered back with its own power play tally with 9:03 to play in the opening frame. From the point Jax Wismer one-timed a pass from Colin Kessler on net and Massimo Lombardi deflected it home for his first goal of the season.
• The Saints reestablished their one goal lead in the dying seconds of the second period. Isack Bandu had an initial shot blocked by Jens Richards but Bandu collected the puck and quickly fired a shot past Wright with 11 seconds left in the middle frame. Sam LeDrew and Andrew Brown earned assists on the play.
• The Catamounts were inches away from equalizing a little under four minutes into the third period. On a two-on-one rush Zach Filak fired a wrist shot labeled for the far corner. It just got a piece of SLU goaltender Mason Kucenski's stick, which broke, and stayed out.
• SLU doubled its lead to 3-1 with 10:11 to play in the third. After a UVM turnover in the neutral zone the Saints broke in on Wright on a two-on-one rush. Frankie Carogioiello took a cross-ice feed from Cooper Pierson and fired a wrist shot home for his first goal as a Saint.
• Ethan Burroughs first career goal with 6:28 to play cut the SLU lead in half. Philip Törnqvist fed Burroughs along the half boards and he skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot through traffic that went right over Kucenski's shoulder to make it 3-2.
• SLU's Gunnar Thoreson found the empty net with 1:37 to play and 25 seconds to play to seal a 5-2 Saints win in their home opener.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts had 81 shots on Sunday, 37 were stopped by SLU's Mason Kucenski and 25 were blocked by Saints skaters.
• With Colin Kessler's assist this afternoon he has points in three straight games dating back to last year. It is the second three-game point streak of his career.
• Montreal Canadiens 2022 fourth round pick Cédrick Guindon made his collegiate debut for the Catamounts Sunday afternoon. He won a game-high 17 faceoffs.
• With this evening's 5-2 decision, Community Bank N.A. will donate $100 to Special Olympics Vermont. Community Bank, N.A. donates $50 per goal to Special Olympics Vermont for every goal the men's and women's team scores this season. 

UP NEXT
The Catamounts head to Minnesota for the second straight October next weekend as they travel to St. Cloud. It will be the first time the Catamounts have faced St. Cloud State since December 30, 2006. Vermont is 1-1-0 all-time on the road against the Huskies. The teams will faceoff at 8 p.m. (ET) on Friday, October 17 and at 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday.
 
As always, the games will air live on WVMT (96.3 FM/620 AM) with the voice of the Catamounts Owen Gund on the call. The action will be streamed live on NCHC.TV. A monthly pass is available for $32.95 or a daily pass is available for $16.95. Friday's action from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center will also air live on local TV in Minnesota and can be found on The CW Twin Cities.

For news and updates about the Vermont men's hockey program, follow @UVMmhockey on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.