University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, January 19
Mendota Heights, Minn.
7:07 p.m. Central
7-15-1, 6-10-1
4
vs
2
Bowling Green
14-13-0, 11-8-0
1
2
3
F
Bowling Green
1
1
0
2
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
3
4
Team Stats
BGU
UST
Shots
26
29
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
3
Penalty Mins
8
6
Faceoffs Won
32
31
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
4
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
3
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
2
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Byers' third-period flurry fuels comeback win for Men's Hockey
1/19/2023 10:29:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Mendota Heights, Minn. -- Twos were wild for Tommie Men's Hockey in Thursday night's 4-2 home comeback victory over first-place Bowling Green at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Coach Rico Blasi's Tommies (7-15-1 overall, 6-10-1 CCHA) rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to build a two-game winning streak. They also avenged two 3-2 defeats to the Falcons from earlier this season on the road.
Thursday's tying and go-ahead goals came in a 12:46 span of the third frame from the guy in jersey #22, St. Thomas junior forward Mack Byers. This was Byers fifth two-goal game of the season and the fourth time in his last seven games that he connected for two goals.
The Toms closed out a two-goal margin of victory as freshman Josh Eernisse converted an empty-net goal in the game's final 15 seconds, assisted by Byers.
Bowling Green (14-13-0, 11-8-0 CCHA), which had a six-game winning streak halted, came in 6-0 against the Tommies over the Purple's first two D-I seasons, although five of those defeats came by one or two goals.
St. Thomas improved to 5-3-1 in its last nine games after a 2-12 start that included several close losses.
After getting outshot 10-4 over the opening 20 minutes of play, St. Thomas outshot the Falcons 25-17 over the final 40:00. Freshman Luc Laylin's blast tied the game with 4:10 left in period two at 1-1, but the Falcons regained a 2-1 lead with 2:58 to go in the period.
Freshman Aaron Trotter stopped 24 of 26 shots in net for the Purple. He lowered his season goals-against average to 2.98 and lifted his save percentage to .902 with another solid night.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"We've been in these games all year long, they're tight, nerve-wracking for us but the guys stayed with it and focused and came out of it (with a win)... Proud of the guys the way they battled all night. The message for us going into that third period, is that we've been here (in this spot) all year long. This is nothing new for us. Let's go out and play our game and see what happens.
"The game is so fast and it's a game full of mistakes. You have to pay attention to details. I wasn't happy with our two offsides penalties in the first period... (Our focus) changed in the second and third periods, and we started making those little plays, and at the end of the night they add up.
"Mack Byers... when he gets going physically then the rest of us follow suit. When our older guys like (Luke) Manning and Byers are taking the body... we are a different team, and then you know we are playing our type of game."
Up Next
The teams close out the CCHA series with Friday's 7:07 p.m. puck drop at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Coach Rico Blasi's Tommies (7-15-1 overall, 6-10-1 CCHA) rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to build a two-game winning streak. They also avenged two 3-2 defeats to the Falcons from earlier this season on the road.
Thursday's tying and go-ahead goals came in a 12:46 span of the third frame from the guy in jersey #22, St. Thomas junior forward Mack Byers. This was Byers fifth two-goal game of the season and the fourth time in his last seven games that he connected for two goals.
The Toms closed out a two-goal margin of victory as freshman Josh Eernisse converted an empty-net goal in the game's final 15 seconds, assisted by Byers.
Bowling Green (14-13-0, 11-8-0 CCHA), which had a six-game winning streak halted, came in 6-0 against the Tommies over the Purple's first two D-I seasons, although five of those defeats came by one or two goals.
St. Thomas improved to 5-3-1 in its last nine games after a 2-12 start that included several close losses.
After getting outshot 10-4 over the opening 20 minutes of play, St. Thomas outshot the Falcons 25-17 over the final 40:00. Freshman Luc Laylin's blast tied the game with 4:10 left in period two at 1-1, but the Falcons regained a 2-1 lead with 2:58 to go in the period.
Freshman Aaron Trotter stopped 24 of 26 shots in net for the Purple. He lowered his season goals-against average to 2.98 and lifted his save percentage to .902 with another solid night.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"We've been in these games all year long, they're tight, nerve-wracking for us but the guys stayed with it and focused and came out of it (with a win)... Proud of the guys the way they battled all night. The message for us going into that third period, is that we've been here (in this spot) all year long. This is nothing new for us. Let's go out and play our game and see what happens.
"The game is so fast and it's a game full of mistakes. You have to pay attention to details. I wasn't happy with our two offsides penalties in the first period... (Our focus) changed in the second and third periods, and we started making those little plays, and at the end of the night they add up.
"Mack Byers... when he gets going physically then the rest of us follow suit. When our older guys like (Luke) Manning and Byers are taking the body... we are a different team, and then you know we are playing our type of game."
Up Next
The teams close out the CCHA series with Friday's 7:07 p.m. puck drop at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
Press Conference: Rico Blasi January 27th 2025
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St. Thomas Men's Hockey 2023-24 Intro Video
Friday, October 27
Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
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Rico Blasi Press Conference October 3rd
Friday, October 21
