University of St. Thomas Athletics
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Gene's Blog: Joel's team, Rico's squad plant seeds for D-I success
2/1/2022 2:05:00 PM | Gene's Blog
The first Tommie Men's Hockey games were played in 1905. St. Thomas Women's Hockey had its first official season in 1998-99.
During those teams' successful Division III eras, the programs combined to participate in four NCAA Final Fours and claim 56 MIAC championships (regular season or playoffs).
The men won 1,164 games over approximately 115 seasons and recorded 38 consecutive winning seasons to finish their D-III chapter.
The women posted 357 victories in their 23-year history and closed their D-III era with 21 winning seasons in a row.
There was one pitfall for those recent St. Thomas nationally-ranked D-III hockey teams: Occasionally playing down to the competition.
Fast forward to February 2022, season one of the Division I era. Trading top-dog status for an underdog mentality, Tommie Hockey is mastering the art of playing up to the competition.
The latest example came Monday night in Mendota Heights in WCHA women's hockey play. Defending national champion Wisconsin pummeled the Tommie goalie and defense with 50 shots on goal, yet the Badgers won just 3-1 -- the final goal added on an empty-net tally with 13 seconds left.
Let that sink in. A 4-20-1 Tommie team -- without its head coach and two top players gone to prepare for the Olympics -- took a roster half comprised of Division III-era players and hung around all 60 minutes against a Goliath Wisconsin Badger program that is 199-27-16 over the last seven seasons. The same Wisconsin team that outscored St. Thomas 12-2 in a two-game series in November. The same team that three weeks earlier beat Division III's UW-Eau Claire 15-1 in an exhibition contest.
St. Thomas goalie Alexa Dobchuk deserves kudos again. She stopped 47 of 49 shots -- the fifth time in 16 starts she's recorded 45 or more saves. The in-game guidance of acting head coach Bethany Brausen and assistants Marty Sertich and Alli Borgstrom continues to yield positive results. Monday was the seventh time in the last 11 games the Toms were within one goal during the third period against the favored team.
January Jump
As expected, both Tommie teams will finish the season well under .500 on the win-loss slate. They combined for a 1-13 record on the month. But that doesn't tell the real story.
In terms of opportunity, visibility, resilience and confidence, both programs collectively may have never achieved as much in a single month as both did in January.
Over these last 30 days, against several national powers, St. Thomas' men and women were outscored just 63-20. That's notable considering our D-I experience gap, the quality of opponents, and the fact the Tommie defenses faced a total of 548 shots on goal (38 per game).
As they plant seeds and build on their team identity for the future, both Rico Blasi's Tommie men and Joel Johnson's Tommie women are passing the Division I eye test. Both programs are a work in progress, but with each passing weekend the Purple have fewer doubters and more believers among people that watch the sport.
And in the process they're riding a wave of coverage in traditional media and social media unmatched in the history of either program. More casual hockey fans and casual sports followers in the state and region know more about St. Thomas Hockey than was the case even 30 days ago:
Grit Happens
It's a bonus that both Tommie teams are showing steady improvement and play with such grit. The coaches have remained positive and consistent. The players have bought in to the coaches' messaging and fight on. All parties handle media interviews with humility and poise. They all seem to be enjoying the moment.
While competing in the nation's best conference for women's hockey, and having limited D-I experience, Joel's players rarely let down despite being in the midst of a losing streak. They are going with 20 skaters and two goalies since the holiday break. Take out the five empty-net goals given up, and the Purple defense is allowing a modest four goals a game.
On the men's side, despite a 2-24 won-loss record, the locker room is united, and the 28-player roster remains intact. Despite some frustrating sequences, Rico's players have only been whistled for one game misconduct penalty (compared to 10 for opponents) and two major penalties (nine for opponents). The men have been within two goals or less in the third period in 15 of their last 23 defeats. Only six of the team's 24 losses have come against teams that currently have a losing record. After current No. 1-ranked Minnesota State swept the Toms by a 14-0 margin in two November wins, those same Mavericks led St. Thomas just 2-1 with 11:00 to play in an eventual 5-1 win on Jan. 20.
Nobody at St. Thomas expected year one of Division I athletics to be anything but a grind. There are no short cuts, no quick fixes when moving from Division III and jumping into the fire that is the WCHA, CCHA and Summit League. But the Tommies are displaying the leadership and mindset to eventually realize long-term success. That's especially true on the ice.
When the women can badger the Badgers, and for long stretches the men can match the maverick in the Mavericks, you can chalk up January 2022 as a winning month for Tommie Hockey.
During those teams' successful Division III eras, the programs combined to participate in four NCAA Final Fours and claim 56 MIAC championships (regular season or playoffs).
The men won 1,164 games over approximately 115 seasons and recorded 38 consecutive winning seasons to finish their D-III chapter.
The women posted 357 victories in their 23-year history and closed their D-III era with 21 winning seasons in a row.
There was one pitfall for those recent St. Thomas nationally-ranked D-III hockey teams: Occasionally playing down to the competition.
Fast forward to February 2022, season one of the Division I era. Trading top-dog status for an underdog mentality, Tommie Hockey is mastering the art of playing up to the competition.
The latest example came Monday night in Mendota Heights in WCHA women's hockey play. Defending national champion Wisconsin pummeled the Tommie goalie and defense with 50 shots on goal, yet the Badgers won just 3-1 -- the final goal added on an empty-net tally with 13 seconds left.
Let that sink in. A 4-20-1 Tommie team -- without its head coach and two top players gone to prepare for the Olympics -- took a roster half comprised of Division III-era players and hung around all 60 minutes against a Goliath Wisconsin Badger program that is 199-27-16 over the last seven seasons. The same Wisconsin team that outscored St. Thomas 12-2 in a two-game series in November. The same team that three weeks earlier beat Division III's UW-Eau Claire 15-1 in an exhibition contest.
St. Thomas goalie Alexa Dobchuk deserves kudos again. She stopped 47 of 49 shots -- the fifth time in 16 starts she's recorded 45 or more saves. The in-game guidance of acting head coach Bethany Brausen and assistants Marty Sertich and Alli Borgstrom continues to yield positive results. Monday was the seventh time in the last 11 games the Toms were within one goal during the third period against the favored team.
January Jump
As expected, both Tommie teams will finish the season well under .500 on the win-loss slate. They combined for a 1-13 record on the month. But that doesn't tell the real story.
In terms of opportunity, visibility, resilience and confidence, both programs collectively may have never achieved as much in a single month as both did in January.
Over these last 30 days, against several national powers, St. Thomas' men and women were outscored just 63-20. That's notable considering our D-I experience gap, the quality of opponents, and the fact the Tommie defenses faced a total of 548 shots on goal (38 per game).
As they plant seeds and build on their team identity for the future, both Rico Blasi's Tommie men and Joel Johnson's Tommie women are passing the Division I eye test. Both programs are a work in progress, but with each passing weekend the Purple have fewer doubters and more believers among people that watch the sport.
And in the process they're riding a wave of coverage in traditional media and social media unmatched in the history of either program. More casual hockey fans and casual sports followers in the state and region know more about St. Thomas Hockey than was the case even 30 days ago:
- Both Purple teams played five January games against teams ranked No. 1 or 2 nationally at some point during the month.
- Both teams played in Mankato Jan. 22-23 as part of the Hockey Day Minnesota hoopla -- the first ever outdoor game for the Tommie women, and our first men's game played outdoors in 50 seasons.
- Both teams played on live TV on Bally Sports North regional television -- the women Jan. 8 at the U of M, and the men Jan. 22 in Mankato. That's in addition to having all of their season games being streamed live on either Big 10-Plus (women) or FloHockey (men).
- Both played in front of the largest crowds that any St. Thomas hockey team has drawn. The Jan. 22 men's game had 6,000 plus on site in Mankato -- the eighth time this season the men have played before a crowd of 2,300 or more.
- The women played before announced crowds above 1,400 on the road against the Gophers on Jan. 8, and 1,200-plus Jan. 23 in Mankato.
- The men also played an exhibition game against the Minnesota Gophers on Jan. 2 before a sold-out arena of 2,300 in South St. Paul -- the first time these universities had played on the ice in 95 seasons.
- Rico's team took the program's first D-I road victory in dramatic fashion on Jan. 15 at Ferris State -- scoring with 3.1 seconds to play in regulation time. That helped Blasi become the 10th active coach in D-I men's hockey to join the 400-win club.
- The Tommie women played all seven January games without head coach Johnson and freshmen standouts Saskia Maurer and Nicole Vallario. Those three have been preparing to represent their country in this month's Olympic Games in Beijing -- Johnson as head coach of the U.S. women, and the Maurer and Vallario representing the Switzerland National Team.
- Three different Twin Cities TV stations came out In January to cover Blasi's team for interviews or footage.
- And on the women's side, last week's Star Tribune has a long feature story on Johnson's busy life in hockey trying to lead two teams.
- The Pioneer Press, The Rink Live and FloHockey also published multiple stories again in January on St. Thomas Hockey.
Grit Happens
It's a bonus that both Tommie teams are showing steady improvement and play with such grit. The coaches have remained positive and consistent. The players have bought in to the coaches' messaging and fight on. All parties handle media interviews with humility and poise. They all seem to be enjoying the moment.
While competing in the nation's best conference for women's hockey, and having limited D-I experience, Joel's players rarely let down despite being in the midst of a losing streak. They are going with 20 skaters and two goalies since the holiday break. Take out the five empty-net goals given up, and the Purple defense is allowing a modest four goals a game.
On the men's side, despite a 2-24 won-loss record, the locker room is united, and the 28-player roster remains intact. Despite some frustrating sequences, Rico's players have only been whistled for one game misconduct penalty (compared to 10 for opponents) and two major penalties (nine for opponents). The men have been within two goals or less in the third period in 15 of their last 23 defeats. Only six of the team's 24 losses have come against teams that currently have a losing record. After current No. 1-ranked Minnesota State swept the Toms by a 14-0 margin in two November wins, those same Mavericks led St. Thomas just 2-1 with 11:00 to play in an eventual 5-1 win on Jan. 20.
Nobody at St. Thomas expected year one of Division I athletics to be anything but a grind. There are no short cuts, no quick fixes when moving from Division III and jumping into the fire that is the WCHA, CCHA and Summit League. But the Tommies are displaying the leadership and mindset to eventually realize long-term success. That's especially true on the ice.
When the women can badger the Badgers, and for long stretches the men can match the maverick in the Mavericks, you can chalk up January 2022 as a winning month for Tommie Hockey.
--
Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is working his 28th season at St. Thomas and 34th overall working with college athletics teams. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies and college sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
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