2020 Tommie Athletics Flashback: No. 10 story

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of 10 daily countdown recaps highlighting 2020's top stories in St. Thomas Athletics

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No. 10 -- Late-season surge sends Men's Hockey to league playoff crown

Tommie Men's Hockey pulled off the best late-season run of any St. Thomas team. Coach Jeff Boeser's team won their last five games, including three in come-from-behind fashion, to claim the conference playoff title and an NCAA playoff berth.

Going into the final weekend of the regular season, the Tommies had a 10-10-3 overall record and sat in fourth place in the MIAC standings. A 34-year streak of league playoff berths and a 37-year streak of winning seasons were on the line. And the Toms had two games against Augsburg, the league's most successful program over the last five seasons.

Boeser's team rose to the occasion. The Toms fell behind 3-2 at Augsburg in the third period, but in the final 6:37 scored twice and added an empty-net tally for a 5-3 victory on Friday. They won 5-4 on home ice the next night, and those victories let them extend long program streaks for winning seasons (38) and playoff appearances (35-of-35). A conference playoff championship, and an NCAA tournament berth also were earned thanks to three playoff wins in a 10-day span.

St. Thomas rode a wave of momentum as it prepared for its March 14 NCAA playoff game at Lake Forest. The Purple needed one more win to secure a top-five national finish, and two victories to make the Final Four.

But before one puck could be dropped on the Lake Forest ice, the March 12 national shutout due to the Covid-19 spread would abruptly end the Tommies season with a 15-10-3 record.

It certainly wasn't the way eight St. Thomas seniors wanted their careers to end. But it marked the first time since 1981 that a Tommie men's hockey team ended the season by winning the last game it played. That 1981 squad beat St. Olaf 12-3 in an NAIA playoff consolation game. Starting in 1986 and continuing through 2019, the Toms ended each season with a loss in the MIAC playoffs or in the NCAA playoffs. In March 2000 and again in March 2005, St. Thomas nearly recorded the ultimate wins but took second in both national championship games.

St. Thomas went on the road March 7 and received two goals from Luke Radetic, including the go-ahead score in the final 4:00, to edge Concordia-Moorhead, 3-2. That capped a 10-day, 3-0 run through the league playoffs where the Toms allowed just five goals, one in the last minute of a 4-1 win at top-seed St. John's. Radetic scored five goals and five assists in his last nine games.

Did You Know?

St. Thomas had one of Division III hockey's better road records last season at 10-4-2. That included a 6-3-1 mark when the Purple played eight of the season's first 10 contests on the road.
The Toms went 14-0-3 in games when it scored three or more goals.
Of the Toms' 28 games, five went to overtime, and 13 others had a final or late one-goal lead or deficit. They went 8-3 in games decided by one goal, and 13-0-1 in games where they led after two periods.
The Tommies' last 21 goals came from 11 different players.
The Toms won their last 11 games when they led after two periods.
Senior forward Brett Gravelle made first-team All-MIAC for the third year in a row. Gravelle had a team-best 28 points this season. In 102 career games, Gravelle scored 50 goals and 63 assists for 113 points, and is the first Tommie in 12 seasons to surpass 100 career points.
Freshman goalie Henry Baribeau made the conference six-player All-Rookie team. He went 6-1-1 with a 2.51 GAA in his last eight games. Overall he built an 8-3-1 record with a .928 save clip and a 2.33 goals-against average.

Boeser's group enjoyed another impressive year in the classroom, with a 3.63 team grade-point average for 2019-20. The Toms also had 13 players post a cumulative gpa of 3.69 or better. The Purple had nine Academic All-MIAC honorees, including four seniors who have received the award each of the three years they competed: Brett Gravelle, Johnny Panvica, Derek Olmschenk and Broydon Stufko

Honorable Mention

Among our top stories just outside the top 10 include:

Volleyball's Ellie Meyer, a May 2020 graduate now enrolled in dental school, was selected as the MIAC representative for NCAA Woman of the Year with her resume of excellence on and off the court.
Men's Golf's All-America Emmet Herb closed out his eligibility in 2020 and made the elite finalist list for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year national award.
Women's Basketball's Ruth Sinn claimed her 350th career coaching win last February (14 years) in leading the Tommies to another season of 20-plus victories
Baseball's Chris Olean guided his team to a U.S. Bank doubleheader sweep of UW-La Crosse last March and in the process secured his 300th coaching win in his first 12 seasons.
Men's Basketball's John Tauer produced his 200th coaching victory last January, the second fastest coach in Division III men's hoops to reach 200 wins.
Veteran St. Thomas head coaches Jeff Boeser (men's hockey) and Scott Proshek (men's golf) announced plans to retire during the 2020-21 school year. Boeser has been part of the program as a player, assistant and head coach for parts of six decades. The pair combined to win multiple MIAC team titles and Coach of the Year honors.

University of St. Thomas Athletics

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