NORTHFIELD, Minn. – First year Jonathan Panisa scored in the final minute of overtime to give the St. Olaf College men's hockey team a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Marian University in the series opener between the two teams on Saturday evening at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

Panisa netted the first game-winner of his collegiate career on the power play with 59.5 seconds remaining in the extra session to lift St. Olaf (6-1-1) to the win after the Oles trailed Marian (3-5-0) by a 2-1 margin past the midway point of the third period. The win snapped St. Olaf's five-game winless streak (0-4-1) in the series with the Sabres dating back to the 2013-14 season and extended the Oles' unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1).

The six-game unbeaten run is the longest for St. Olaf since going 7-0-1 over an eight-game stretch from Jan. 17 to Feb. 8, 2014. The Oles have held their opponents to two goals or fewer in all five wins during their six-game unbeaten stretch.

Junior Parker Casey gave St. Olaf a short-lived 1-0 lead late in the first period, tipping in a shot by first year Jack Boxer from the right point for his first goal of the season at the 15:58 mark. Marian answered just 41 seconds later, however, as Luca Marcellitti shoveled in a rebound off his own shot that was blocked to send the teams into the first intermission tied at 1-1.

Colby Muise made a pair of point-blank saves on first year Kelijah McElroy in the first half of the second period to keep the game tied before sophomore Sean Walsh rang a shot off the outside of the post with 2:50 to go in the period. With just over a minute remaining in the second, Casey and sophomore Troy Bowditch formed a 2-on-1 rush shorthanded, but Muise again kept the game tied by denying Casey on the backhand.

Muise's saves paid off for the Sabres, as Jack Sampson scored with less than five seconds remaining in the second period to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage through 40 minutes. St. Olaf fought back in the third period and got a game-tying goal on the power play from sophomore Tyler Cooper at the 10:49 mark. Just 16 seconds into a power play, Cooper was on hand to fire the puck into an open net after Muise denied sophomore Matthew Pointer's close-range shot but could not get across to Cooper off Pointer's pass.

St. Olaf was whistled for a holding penalty just 26 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime, but first year Tyler Laureault made three saves to help keep the game tied. With time on its power play running down, Marian committed a minor penalty to set up game-winning goal. After Casey won an offensive zone faceoff, first year Gunnar Johnson held the puck in the zone and got the puck in front to Casey, who fed it to a wide-open Panisa for the game-winner.

Laureault made 31 saves, including 12 in the third period and five more in overtime, to earn his first collegiate victory, while Muise had 25 stops in the loss for Marian.

The two teams wrap up their non-conference series on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. at St. Olaf Ice Arena.