University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, March 4
Mankato, Minn.
7:07 p.m.
3-31-1
2
at
3
Minnesota State
32-5-0
1
2
3
F
St. Thomas (MN)
1
1
0
2
Minnesota State
0
1
2
3
Team Stats
Tommies
MINNST
Shots
13
42
PPG
2
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
4
Penalty Mins
10
8
Faceoffs Won
25
41
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
Pater Thome stopped 39 of 42 shots
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Men's Hockey upset bid falls short vs. No. 1-ranked Mavericks
3/4/2022 9:19:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Mankato, Minn. - Tommie Men's Hockey wasn't supposed to win Friday's CCHA playoff opener here Friday night against No. 1-ranked Minnesota State. It wasn't even expected to keep the margin close before an enthusiastic hometown crowd at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
The host Mavericks came in with an 11-game winning streak and perched firmly atop the national polls. They had previously outscored St. Thomas 26-2 in four regular-season wins. That included a 9-0 victory over St. Thomas in this arena back in November.
But on Friday, despite being outshot by a large margin, Coach Rico Blasi's Tommies held leads of 1-0 after one period and 2-1 after two frames. The game was tied into the final 6:00 of regulation.
Then the host Mavericks converted an even-strength goal with 5:33 remaining to take their first lead. They held off the Toms' late extra-attacker bid to close out the 3-2 victory in game one of the best-of-three series.
Ethan Gauer and Luke Manning scored power-play goals for St. Thomas (3-31-1). Peter Thome stopped 39 of 42 shots.
Minnesota State (32-5-1) outshot St. Thomas 42-13, but its potent No. 1 forward line that came in with a combined 48 goals and 77 assists on the season had a rare night with no points.
Blasi said St. Thomas' power-play was one of the game's bright spots as it converted two of three chances.
"We did a good job getting pucks to the net and obviously getting some bodies to the net and cause chaos and traffic," the coach said.
Blasi noted that Minnesota State does so many things well, and explained that he was proud they way his players held their own over 60 minutes and had a chance to win.
"Their speed (is hard to stay with), and they jump their defensemen all the time," Blasi said. "It's really hard to identify what's going on on the rush. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of it. They come in waves, so you really have to be smart on your puck management and smart on your dumps, making sure you hit the net. Otherwise they're coming the other way (on the attack).
"I think we played pretty well tonight, I'm really happy the way we played. Our guys left it all on the ice, Unfortunately it comes down to one play."
Manning has recorded five goals and four assists over his last six games.
The teams play again Saturday (7:07 p.m.), and the Purple need to win to force a Sunday evening rematch.
The host Mavericks came in with an 11-game winning streak and perched firmly atop the national polls. They had previously outscored St. Thomas 26-2 in four regular-season wins. That included a 9-0 victory over St. Thomas in this arena back in November.
But on Friday, despite being outshot by a large margin, Coach Rico Blasi's Tommies held leads of 1-0 after one period and 2-1 after two frames. The game was tied into the final 6:00 of regulation.
Then the host Mavericks converted an even-strength goal with 5:33 remaining to take their first lead. They held off the Toms' late extra-attacker bid to close out the 3-2 victory in game one of the best-of-three series.
Ethan Gauer and Luke Manning scored power-play goals for St. Thomas (3-31-1). Peter Thome stopped 39 of 42 shots.
Minnesota State (32-5-1) outshot St. Thomas 42-13, but its potent No. 1 forward line that came in with a combined 48 goals and 77 assists on the season had a rare night with no points.
Blasi said St. Thomas' power-play was one of the game's bright spots as it converted two of three chances.
"We did a good job getting pucks to the net and obviously getting some bodies to the net and cause chaos and traffic," the coach said.
Blasi noted that Minnesota State does so many things well, and explained that he was proud they way his players held their own over 60 minutes and had a chance to win.
"Their speed (is hard to stay with), and they jump their defensemen all the time," Blasi said. "It's really hard to identify what's going on on the rush. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of it. They come in waves, so you really have to be smart on your puck management and smart on your dumps, making sure you hit the net. Otherwise they're coming the other way (on the attack).
"I think we played pretty well tonight, I'm really happy the way we played. Our guys left it all on the ice, Unfortunately it comes down to one play."
Manning has recorded five goals and four assists over his last six games.
The teams play again Saturday (7:07 p.m.), and the Purple need to win to force a Sunday evening rematch.
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Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
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