University of St. Thomas Athletics
Bemidji State
Game Notes -- Men's Hockey hits the road, tests Bemidji State
12/1/2022 5:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Men's Hockey (4-12-0 overall, 3-7-0 CCHA) hits the road Dec. 2-3 to play conference night games at Bemidji State (5-4-3, 3-1-2).
The Toms are coming off the program's first Division I series sweep, over Lake Superior State on home ice last weekend. Friday's win came via a 4-0 score, and Saturday was a 2-1 victory. Aaron Trotter saved all 23 shots he faced in Friday's game for the first D-I shutout win. Josh Eernisse scored twice within a 4:15 span as part of a three-goal second period. Cameron Recchi notched the other goal of the period, while Jake Braccini tallied the fourth halfway through the third period. In Saturday's win, Luke Manning's power play goal near the end of the second period started the scoring, and Eernisse added a shorthanded goal early in the third.
Last season, St. Thomas went 0-4 vs. the Beavers: 5-2 and 6-1 losses on home ice in December and 5-3 and 4-3 (overtime) defeats in February on the road. In the D-III era, Bemidji went 22-3-1 vs. St. Thomas hockey. St. Thomas' last win over Bemidji State came in fall 1998 as each team won a one-goal game in a weekend series in Bemidji. The Beavers are 26-3-1 all time vs. the Purple.
Bemidji, 3-1-2 at home so far this season, has allowed just 29 goals in 12 games, including just 10 goals in six CCHA contests. The Beavers have a split with St. Cloud State and a win and a tie vs. Michigan Tech.
This series features two of the top 12 active men's hockey coaches ranked by career victories, both in their 22nd seasons as a head coach: Rico Blasi is ninth with 405 wins (837 games coached) , nd BSU's Tom Serratore is 12th with 359 wins (785 games coached)
Follow
Friday's live video can be accessed HERE:
https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7820914-2022-st-thomas-mn-vs-bemidji-state-mens
The games can be heard live on SkorNorth AM 1500 (HERE via computer):
https://live.skornorth.com/listen/
Friday's game will have live stats that can be accessed HERE:
https://bsubeavers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi (Nov. 28)
"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. (With) 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 think (the CCHA) is exactly what we thought it would be. Some of the top teams (of the recent past) are still top teams in our conference. The rest of us are trying to get better. That is the consistency we are talking about. You don't go from 0 to 60 on Friday or Saturday you have to do it during the week. You have to prepare everyday like it is gameday. Josh (Eernisse) is one of those guys that does it consistenly. There is a lot of guys that do that. Learning everyday."
Hockey Honors
Tommie Men's Hockey continued a weekend of firsts last Monday when it had two of the four players chosen as CCHA Players of the Week: Goaltender of the Week Aaron Trotter, and Rookie of the Week forward Josh Eernisse.
Both are freshmen. The Toms previously have had only had three CCHA Players of the Week in the two-year D-I era, and none in the same week. Trevor Zins (Defenseman) and Tim Piechowski (Rookie) were selected last season, and Ethan Gauer (defenseman) was honored earlier this season.
Trotter recorded his first college shutout with 23 saves in Friday's 4-0 defeat of Lake Superior State. He came back Saturday and stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 2-1 win that gave the Purple their first weekend series sweep of their D-I era. Trotter and his teammates killed off all five Laker power plays on the weekend (four on Saturday). The Victoria, B.C. native lowered his season goals-against average to 3.12 and lifted his save percentage to .895. He's ranked first nationally among D-I freshmen goalies in minutes played and saves, and ranks in the top 12 nationally in minutes played (827) and saves (368 in 14 contests).
An Apple Valley, Minn., native, Eernisse scored the first two goals to jump start the Toms in Friday's shutout win. He came back Saturday and scored a short-handed goal in the third period for a 2-0 lead in an eventual 2-1 victory. He has recorded seven goals through 16 games, and ranks eighth among all D-I freshman and first among CCHA rookies in goals scored. Last season it took until Feb. 4 until a Tommie player reached seven goals on the season. Eernisse's seven shots on Friday tied a D-I era record for a Tommie player. His three game-winning goals this season are tied for second most among all D-I players, and the Toms are 4-2 this season in games when Eernisse scores a goal. Eernisse scored 10 goals in 85 games over the previous two seasons with Tri City in the USHL.
Did You Know?
- Eight of the Toms' losses have come vs. top-10 ranked Penn State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State, and top-20 ranked Michigan Tech
- St. Thomas is 0-16 in its D-I era against in-state opponents, with 12 of those losses in 2021-22. The Toms are 0-8 vs. Minnesota State; and 0-4 vs. both St. Cloud State and Bemidji State. Six of those 16 games have been decided by one or two goals.
- This season, eight Tommie defeats are by one or two goals. The Purple have led or been tied in the third period in six of their losses,
- Luke Manning scored a goal Nov. 25, goal number 21 in D-I play in his career at Air Force and St. Thomas. Manning scored goals in five of his last seven games last season, and has contributed five goals in his last 10 games in 2022-23.
- The Toms' last 13 goals have come from nine different players.
- Last season (36 games), the Toms were outscored by a near 3-to-1 margin, 167-61. In this season's 16 games, the Purple have been outscored just 55-37.
- Two freshmen, Cooper Gay and Josh Eernisse, have joined a short list of Toms to record a multi-goal game this season, with Gay's coming on Oct. 28 against Minnesota State and Eernisse's occuring on Nov. 25 against Lake Superior State.
- The Toms had their third sellout crowd of the season Oct. 28 (961 spectators), a program record in the 20-year run at the STA rink. They drew 800-plus fans each night Nov. 18-19 vs. Michigan Tech.
Close Calls
As part of its D-I learning curve, the Purple have 19 losses by one or two goals so far in the D-I era (eight so far this season). Since fall 2021, St. Thomas is 4-10 in one-goal decisions, and 0-9 in games decided by two goals.
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Click HERE to access complete Tommie Men's Hockey weekly notes
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