University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, December 3
Bemidji, Minn.
6:07 p.m. Central
4-13-1, 3-8-1
2
at
2
Bemidji State
6-4-4, 4-1-3
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
1
0
0
2
Bemidji St.
0
0
2
0
0
2
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Men's Hockey comeback nets 2-2 tie at Bemidji State
12/3/2022 8:49:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Bemidji, Minn. -- Tommie Men's Hockey ended a long losing streak to in-state opponents as a late third-period goal by Mack Byers led to a 2-2 overtime tie with host Bemidji State in CCHA play on Saturday night.
Following the scoreless OT period, Bemidji (6-4-4 overall, 4-1-3 CCHA) won a shootout to claim Saturday night's second point in the conference standings.
Coming into Saturday, the Tommies (4-13-1 overall, 3-8-1 CCHA) were 0-17 combined against Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State over the last 15 months to start their D-I era. Several of those games were decided by one or two goals, and the Toms continue to show steady improvement in this year's meetings with the Minnesota teams.
Tommie freshman Aaron Trotter stopped 29 of 31 shots in Saturday's tie.
Byers scored twice to record a four-goal weekend. His linemates, Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill, each contributed three assists on the weekend.
Byers' first goal came midway through the second period for a 1-0 lead. After BSU added the tying and go-ahead goals in period three, Byers scored with 1:20 to play in regulation time to knot the score 2-2.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"I thought playing on the road down by a goal with two minutes left, I was happy we could tie it up. Ultimately I thought we battled hard.
"I thought both teams looked tired tonight. Last night's (6-4 loss) was kind of weird for a lot of reasons, tonight was weird for a lot of different reasons. But we got a tie out of it. I'm happy about the way we competed this week.
"It feels like there's a little shift in our team's belief (process)... they feel like they belong at this level. Hopefully as a coaching staff, we can push the right buttons. It's right there for us. It's evident. I think the guys are starting to feel it. Coming back last night (from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits) and the way we came back tonight really emphasizes that point."
Next Up:
St. Thomas is off next weekend and closes the December portion of its regular-season schedule at home Dec. 16-17 against Ferris State.
Did You Know?
The Toms lost both officials' reviews of goals on Saturday: a BSU goal was upheld, and an apparent Tommie goal was disallowed due to interference with the goalie.
Byers becomes the first Tommie in the D-I era to score four goals in one weekend series. He has eight goals on the season to tie Josh Eernisse for the team lead.
The Purple have scored first in four consecutive games.
The Toms just passed the halfway point of the regular season with 18 games down and 16 left.
St. Thomas had come up short on the road prior to Saturday, with a 1-8 mark in away games, although most defeats came by one or two goals.
Following the scoreless OT period, Bemidji (6-4-4 overall, 4-1-3 CCHA) won a shootout to claim Saturday night's second point in the conference standings.
Coming into Saturday, the Tommies (4-13-1 overall, 3-8-1 CCHA) were 0-17 combined against Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State over the last 15 months to start their D-I era. Several of those games were decided by one or two goals, and the Toms continue to show steady improvement in this year's meetings with the Minnesota teams.
Tommie freshman Aaron Trotter stopped 29 of 31 shots in Saturday's tie.
Byers scored twice to record a four-goal weekend. His linemates, Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill, each contributed three assists on the weekend.
Byers' first goal came midway through the second period for a 1-0 lead. After BSU added the tying and go-ahead goals in period three, Byers scored with 1:20 to play in regulation time to knot the score 2-2.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"I thought playing on the road down by a goal with two minutes left, I was happy we could tie it up. Ultimately I thought we battled hard.
"I thought both teams looked tired tonight. Last night's (6-4 loss) was kind of weird for a lot of reasons, tonight was weird for a lot of different reasons. But we got a tie out of it. I'm happy about the way we competed this week.
"It feels like there's a little shift in our team's belief (process)... they feel like they belong at this level. Hopefully as a coaching staff, we can push the right buttons. It's right there for us. It's evident. I think the guys are starting to feel it. Coming back last night (from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits) and the way we came back tonight really emphasizes that point."
Next Up:
St. Thomas is off next weekend and closes the December portion of its regular-season schedule at home Dec. 16-17 against Ferris State.
Did You Know?
The Toms lost both officials' reviews of goals on Saturday: a BSU goal was upheld, and an apparent Tommie goal was disallowed due to interference with the goalie.
Byers becomes the first Tommie in the D-I era to score four goals in one weekend series. He has eight goals on the season to tie Josh Eernisse for the team lead.
The Purple have scored first in four consecutive games.
The Toms just passed the halfway point of the regular season with 18 games down and 16 left.
St. Thomas had come up short on the road prior to Saturday, with a 1-8 mark in away games, although most defeats came by one or two goals.
Team Stats
UST
BSU
Shots
18
31
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
4
Penalty Mins
4
8
Faceoffs Won
29
27
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
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/ Men's HockeyF
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