University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 26
Mendota Heights, Minn.
6:07 p.m. Central
4-12-0, 3-7-0
2
vs
1
Lake Superior State
1-9-2, 0-5-1
1
2
3
F
Lake Superior St.
0
0
1
1
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
1
2
Team Stats
LSS
UST
Shots
22
22
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
1
Penalties
4
6
Penalty Mins
8
12
Faceoffs Won
33
28
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
Luke Manning scored his 21st career Division I goal in Saturday's win (Abby Bondi photo)
Sweet sweep for Men's Hockey: 2-1 win caps productive weekend
11/26/2022 9:49:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Mendota Heights, Minn. -- Thanks to sharp goalie play, teamwork and attention to details, St. Thomas Men's Hockey has recorded its first Division I weekend series sweep.
The Purple followed up Friday night's 4-0 win over Lake Superior State with Saturday night's hard-fought 2-1 victory in CCHA play at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Freshman goalie Aaron Trotter stopped 21 of 22 shots Saturday after his 23-save shutout on Friday. Trotter and his teammates killed off all four Lake Superior State power plays. Trotter lowered his goals-against average to 3.12 and lifted his save percentage to .895.
Freshman forward Josh Eernisse scored a short-handed goal in the third period -- his team-best sixth goal of the season -- for a 2-0 lead. Eernisse finished with a three-goal weekend, including his two-goal game on Friday night.
Senior Luke Manning stayed hot as his second-period goal broke a scoreless tie. Manning has recorded five goals over his last 10 games.
The Tommies (4-12 overall, 2-6 CCHA) never trailed on the weekend. They have limited opponents to three or less goals in nine of 16 games.
The Lakers broke a weekend scoring drought with 7:10 to go in period three to pull within 2-1. But the Toms' defense kept its poise and was able to accomplish something that has often eluded it -- being on the right end of a one-goal decision. The Purple went 2-5 last season in one-goal games, and were 1-6 in one-goal contests coming into Saturday.
Quoting Rico Blasi
"A (series sweep) is an important step in the process. I'm really proud of the guys the way they have battled since the beginning of the year. I mean some of the things we've had to go through, the adversity, the close games. It's human nature to get down on themselves, but the guys kept coming back to the rink and working hard and staying positive and listening to what we're trying to accomplish. If you stay focused on the process you get rewarded, and that feels good. We can celebrate a little bit, but we have to get ready for Bemidji State.
"I told our guys this morning the hardest thing in college hockey is to sweep, because the other team is going to want a piece of you. I thought our guys weathered the storm when they had to, we blocked some shots, (Aaron) Trotter made some saves, I thought we managed the puck really well in the third period. We knew they were going to (make a run), but I thought our (penalty kill) was good, or power play was good. We only had one chance on the power play so we had to make the most of it. It was a good team win.
"When you talk about a team, everybody's role has to be evident. Our job as a (coaching) staff is to continue to remind the guys of what they need to do, the little details, the focus, what we are seeing from our perspective. They have to go out and do it, and they have to stay together and play connected and they have to communicate. I thought from top to bottom our whole lineup -- even the guys that didn't play -- were engaged, and that's the way we have to be."
Next Up
St. Thomas plays two games at Bemidji State next Friday and Saturday Dec. 2-3.
Did You Know?
The Purple followed up Friday night's 4-0 win over Lake Superior State with Saturday night's hard-fought 2-1 victory in CCHA play at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Freshman goalie Aaron Trotter stopped 21 of 22 shots Saturday after his 23-save shutout on Friday. Trotter and his teammates killed off all four Lake Superior State power plays. Trotter lowered his goals-against average to 3.12 and lifted his save percentage to .895.
Freshman forward Josh Eernisse scored a short-handed goal in the third period -- his team-best sixth goal of the season -- for a 2-0 lead. Eernisse finished with a three-goal weekend, including his two-goal game on Friday night.
Senior Luke Manning stayed hot as his second-period goal broke a scoreless tie. Manning has recorded five goals over his last 10 games.
The Tommies (4-12 overall, 2-6 CCHA) never trailed on the weekend. They have limited opponents to three or less goals in nine of 16 games.
The Lakers broke a weekend scoring drought with 7:10 to go in period three to pull within 2-1. But the Toms' defense kept its poise and was able to accomplish something that has often eluded it -- being on the right end of a one-goal decision. The Purple went 2-5 last season in one-goal games, and were 1-6 in one-goal contests coming into Saturday.
Quoting Rico Blasi
"A (series sweep) is an important step in the process. I'm really proud of the guys the way they have battled since the beginning of the year. I mean some of the things we've had to go through, the adversity, the close games. It's human nature to get down on themselves, but the guys kept coming back to the rink and working hard and staying positive and listening to what we're trying to accomplish. If you stay focused on the process you get rewarded, and that feels good. We can celebrate a little bit, but we have to get ready for Bemidji State.
"I told our guys this morning the hardest thing in college hockey is to sweep, because the other team is going to want a piece of you. I thought our guys weathered the storm when they had to, we blocked some shots, (Aaron) Trotter made some saves, I thought we managed the puck really well in the third period. We knew they were going to (make a run), but I thought our (penalty kill) was good, or power play was good. We only had one chance on the power play so we had to make the most of it. It was a good team win.
"When you talk about a team, everybody's role has to be evident. Our job as a (coaching) staff is to continue to remind the guys of what they need to do, the little details, the focus, what we are seeing from our perspective. They have to go out and do it, and they have to stay together and play connected and they have to communicate. I thought from top to bottom our whole lineup -- even the guys that didn't play -- were engaged, and that's the way we have to be."
Next Up
St. Thomas plays two games at Bemidji State next Friday and Saturday Dec. 2-3.
Did You Know?
- Lake Superior State (1-9-2, 0-5-1) briefly held a 1-0 lead in period two, but after a coach's challenge, the goal was waived off due to an offsides infraction.
- The Purple went 3-for-6 on the power play this weekend. They have converted 6-of-17 over the last three games on the man advantage after a very slow start to the season on power plays.
- Friday's win ended a six-game season losing streak for the Toms and also halted a run of Friday night losses this season (now 1-6 on Fridays).
- The Toms have allowed just 17 goals over the last six games, including just two in the second periods.
- Last season through 16 games, the Toms stood 1-15 and had been outscored 78-24. This season they have four wins and have been outscored just 56-36.They have six losses to top-10 ranked teams and eight defeats by one or two goals.
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