University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, December 10
Houghton, Mich.
6:07 p.m.
1-18-0, 1-12-0
1
at
6
Michigan Tech
9-7-0, 6-5-0
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
0
1
Michigan Tech
3
3
0
6
Christiano Versich (29) battles for control in Friday's game at Michigan Tech (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech)
Tough Michigan Tech team storms past Men's Hockey
12/10/2021 9:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
A senior-led Michigan Tech team recorded a 44-12 shots advantage and pulled away to post a 6-1 win over visiting St. Thomas Men's Hockey in Friday night's CCHA contest in Houghton, Mich.
The Huskies (9-7 overall, 6-5 CCHA) are receiving votes in the national top-20 poll after playing No. 1-ranked Minnesota State to 2-1 and 3-1 losses last weekend. They scored a short-handed goal and went 2-for-4 on the power play.
Nolan Sawchuk scored his first goal in a Tommie uniform, assisted by Grant Loven. Sawchuk's blast following a faceoff in the second period found the back of the net and pulled the Toms within 3-1.
St. Thomas (1-18, 1-12) got 38 saves from fifth-year senior Peter Thome. He surpassed 1,200 career saves, including 793 in his previous four seasons at North Dakota.
Coach Rico Blasi said the Tommies are making progress in many areas but said they just need to play with more grit and intensity if they want to compete with the more experienced teams.
"Many times we're there (in position) to make the play, but we just don't execute," Blasi said. "The details are things we are still working on, we just have to get better than that. We gave up two power-play goals where our guys were standing right beside the guy and allowed them to shoot the puck, one was a back door one was right in front of the net.
"I think our schemes are good, we're there, we're in the right spot, we just have to make the play. We have to be determined not to let them score. They're a good hockey team, they are going to kill penalties hard, just like they play five-on-five. You just have to be ready to battle and win those battles.
"It really boils down to will, and performing and focusing on your details, stick positioning, staying engaged in the battle. These are all things we try to focus on in practice every day. We're getting a little better at that, we're not quite there, obviously not at the level of a (Michigan) Tech or a Mankato or a Bemidji at this point. We're fighting, we're in the right spots, it ultimately comes down to whether we want to do it or not. That's on the individual, and that's part of the process, that's part of the learning experience, that's part of understanding how to play at a high level and the intensity you have to (bring), the compete you have to play with. We didn't lose tonight's game because we were out goaltended, we lost tonight's game because we didn't win enough battles and we weren't detailed enough in our game."
The teams meet again Saturday night in Houghton with a puck drop at 5 p.m. Minnesota time.
The Huskies (9-7 overall, 6-5 CCHA) are receiving votes in the national top-20 poll after playing No. 1-ranked Minnesota State to 2-1 and 3-1 losses last weekend. They scored a short-handed goal and went 2-for-4 on the power play.
Nolan Sawchuk scored his first goal in a Tommie uniform, assisted by Grant Loven. Sawchuk's blast following a faceoff in the second period found the back of the net and pulled the Toms within 3-1.
St. Thomas (1-18, 1-12) got 38 saves from fifth-year senior Peter Thome. He surpassed 1,200 career saves, including 793 in his previous four seasons at North Dakota.
Coach Rico Blasi said the Tommies are making progress in many areas but said they just need to play with more grit and intensity if they want to compete with the more experienced teams.
"Many times we're there (in position) to make the play, but we just don't execute," Blasi said. "The details are things we are still working on, we just have to get better than that. We gave up two power-play goals where our guys were standing right beside the guy and allowed them to shoot the puck, one was a back door one was right in front of the net.
"I think our schemes are good, we're there, we're in the right spot, we just have to make the play. We have to be determined not to let them score. They're a good hockey team, they are going to kill penalties hard, just like they play five-on-five. You just have to be ready to battle and win those battles.
"It really boils down to will, and performing and focusing on your details, stick positioning, staying engaged in the battle. These are all things we try to focus on in practice every day. We're getting a little better at that, we're not quite there, obviously not at the level of a (Michigan) Tech or a Mankato or a Bemidji at this point. We're fighting, we're in the right spots, it ultimately comes down to whether we want to do it or not. That's on the individual, and that's part of the process, that's part of the learning experience, that's part of understanding how to play at a high level and the intensity you have to (bring), the compete you have to play with. We didn't lose tonight's game because we were out goaltended, we lost tonight's game because we didn't win enough battles and we weren't detailed enough in our game."
The teams meet again Saturday night in Houghton with a puck drop at 5 p.m. Minnesota time.
Team Stats
UST
MTU
Shots
12
44
PPG
0
2
SHG
0
1
Penalties
5
4
Penalty Mins
10
8
Faceoffs Won
24
38
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
Press Conference: Rico Blasi January 27th 2025
Monday, January 27
St. Thomas Men's Hockey 2023-24 Intro Video
Friday, October 27
Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
Friday, October 21
Rico Blasi Press Conference October 3rd
Friday, October 21
