University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 13
Saint Paul, Minn.
7:37 p.m. Central
vs
University of Minnesota
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Men's Hockey goes toe-to-toe with national runner-up #2 Minnesota
10/12/2023 2:21:00 PM | Men's Hockey
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The Tommies host the Gophers Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center and then head to 3M Arena at Mariucci on Saturday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) gets ready for maybe the most highly anticipated matchup in the program's short three-year history against the #2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 B1G) this Friday at the Xcel Energy Center and Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The Tommies come into play for the second week of the season after completing a split against the top-ten ranked Huskies of St. Cloud State with a 5-4 overtime win on the road and a 1-0 home loss in Mendota Heights.
Home will look a little different this Friday as the Toms will call the Xcel Energy Center their home ice. This will be the second time the Tommies have played in front of thousands at the "X." The first was during the team's first series of the DI era in 2021 and concluded with a 2-0 loss to then second ranked St. Cloud State.
Valuable Experience
Rico Blasi and his staff signed seven transfer players for the 2023-24 season, including six Minnesota natives.
The newcomers bring a collective 436 games of college hockey experience to the Purple. The group consists of four forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie. Five of the players have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The transfers include defensemen Jake Ratzlaff who played football for the Wisconsin Badgers and is making his return to the sport of hockey, forward Ryder Donovan who is a draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights and played 88 games for the Wisconsin Badgers, Matthew Gleason, a forward from Colorado College who is a St. Paul native, Liam Malmquist, a forward from Edina, Minn. who skated in 70 games for the Badgers, defenseman, James Marooney, a former Buckeye with 80 games experience, Noah Prokop, also a forward from Colorado College, and goaltender Jake Sibell who played 14 games for the Niagara Purple Eagles.
That Valuable Experience Paid Off
Six of those seven transfers played in both games to start the Tommies' season against St. Cloud State. Each made an impact and helped propel the Tommies to their biggest win in the DI era.
Liam Malmquist assisted on two goals in the game-one victory including a setup pass on Ryder Donovan's game-winner in overtime. James Marooney was also credited with an assist on the victory-sealing goal.
Noah Prokop won the ever-so crucial opening faceoff of 3-on-3 overtime and the Huskies never touched the puck in the extra frame. Jake Ratzlaff played physical hockey on his first game on a collegiate blue line, and Matthew Gleason assisted on a goal to secure his first point in Purple and then scored his first goal just minutes later.
Scouting the Gophers
The Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota are coming off a season in which they were the runners-up in the national championship game. The last time this team got on the ice and played collegiate hockey that counted, they were defeated by Quinnipiac after going 29-10-1 throughout the 2022-23 season. They return to the ice for the first time in 2023-24 against a Tommie team fresh off one top-ten upset.
The Gophers lost three of their four top point scores from last season in the nation's second leading scorer Logan Cooley (22G-38A-60P), Matthew Knies (21G-21A-42P), and Jackson LaCombe (9G-26A-30P). All three are now suiting up professionally for NHL franchises.
Minnesota does return their second leading point score from a season ago in Jimmy Snuggerud. Snuggerud finished last season with 21 goals, 29 assists, for 50 points, a total that ranked him top-five nationally.
Tommies in the Polls
St. Thomas received votes in a national poll for the first time this preseason. When the first USCHO National Poll came out on Sept. 25, the Tommies received four votes, one of 20 programs listed outside of the top-20. Also found on the poll were St. Thomas opponents Minnesota (3), St. Cloud (8), Michigan Tech (10), Minnesota Duluth (17), with Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Bemidji State and Bowling Green also receiving votes.
After a successful weekend that included an overtime thriller against #8 St. Cloud State, the Tommies acquired some more votes in the USCHO weekly poll. Their 15 votes are the most in program history. The Minnesota Gophers moved up one spot in the poll to the #2 spot after not playing a regular season game during the first weekend of the year.
The Toms were also given some love in the CCHA preseason coaches' poll. St. Thomas was picked to finish fifth, two places above where they finished out the season last year. The Purple were one of just three teams to receive a first-place vote (Michigan Tech-4 and Northern Michigan-3).
Tommies and Gophers Head-to-Head
The University of St. Thomas and University of Minnesota Men's Hockey teams have never played a true division one regular season matchup. Their games on the ice at the Xcel Energy Center and 3M Arena at Mariucci will be the first two of the budding crosstown rivalry.
The Tommies have matched up with Minnesota for exhibitions in the past and played them occasionally in the 1910's and 1920's.
A season ago
Year two of the DI era for head coach Rico Blasi's team was a major step in the right direction. After winning just three games in year one under Blasi the Tommies more than tripled their wins.
The Purple finished out the season by grabbing at least one points from nine straight CCHA series. They beat all seven conference opponents at least once, including two wins against the top-two finishers in the league (Michigan Tech and Minnesota State).
Picked for eighth place in the preseason coaches' poll, the Toms finished in seventh.
Eight freshmen skaters combined to score more than half of the team's points:
45 goals and 72 assists by Luc Laylin, Ryan O'Neill, Lucas Wahlin, Jake Braccini, Josh Eernisse, Cooper Gay, Carson Peters, Quinton Pepper and Brady Simmons-Fischer (52 percent of team's goals). The Tommies welcome back all but one of those back this season.
It was another freshman standout between the pipes for the Tommies in Aaron Trotter. Trotter finished the season with a goals against average below three and a save percentage above .900. The freshman secured all 11 wins for the Toms and finished of the first shutout in program history against Lake Superior State on Nov. 25, 2022.
The program's first shutout was not the only "first" that happened during the 2022-23 season. The team picked up its first overtime win (Oct. 8 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks), first road overtime win (Feb. 3 at Minnesota State), first win when trailing after two periods (Oct. 8 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks), and first series sweep (Nov. 25-26 vs. Lake Superior State).
St. Thomas battled through 10 one-goal losses and allowed 50 fewer goals from the previous season over 36 games (1.3 per game less). They were 10-3-1 when allowing two goals or less.
The Tommies come into play for the second week of the season after completing a split against the top-ten ranked Huskies of St. Cloud State with a 5-4 overtime win on the road and a 1-0 home loss in Mendota Heights.
Home will look a little different this Friday as the Toms will call the Xcel Energy Center their home ice. This will be the second time the Tommies have played in front of thousands at the "X." The first was during the team's first series of the DI era in 2021 and concluded with a 2-0 loss to then second ranked St. Cloud State.
Valuable Experience
Rico Blasi and his staff signed seven transfer players for the 2023-24 season, including six Minnesota natives.
The newcomers bring a collective 436 games of college hockey experience to the Purple. The group consists of four forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie. Five of the players have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The transfers include defensemen Jake Ratzlaff who played football for the Wisconsin Badgers and is making his return to the sport of hockey, forward Ryder Donovan who is a draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights and played 88 games for the Wisconsin Badgers, Matthew Gleason, a forward from Colorado College who is a St. Paul native, Liam Malmquist, a forward from Edina, Minn. who skated in 70 games for the Badgers, defenseman, James Marooney, a former Buckeye with 80 games experience, Noah Prokop, also a forward from Colorado College, and goaltender Jake Sibell who played 14 games for the Niagara Purple Eagles.
That Valuable Experience Paid Off
Six of those seven transfers played in both games to start the Tommies' season against St. Cloud State. Each made an impact and helped propel the Tommies to their biggest win in the DI era.
Liam Malmquist assisted on two goals in the game-one victory including a setup pass on Ryder Donovan's game-winner in overtime. James Marooney was also credited with an assist on the victory-sealing goal.
Noah Prokop won the ever-so crucial opening faceoff of 3-on-3 overtime and the Huskies never touched the puck in the extra frame. Jake Ratzlaff played physical hockey on his first game on a collegiate blue line, and Matthew Gleason assisted on a goal to secure his first point in Purple and then scored his first goal just minutes later.
Scouting the Gophers
The Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota are coming off a season in which they were the runners-up in the national championship game. The last time this team got on the ice and played collegiate hockey that counted, they were defeated by Quinnipiac after going 29-10-1 throughout the 2022-23 season. They return to the ice for the first time in 2023-24 against a Tommie team fresh off one top-ten upset.
The Gophers lost three of their four top point scores from last season in the nation's second leading scorer Logan Cooley (22G-38A-60P), Matthew Knies (21G-21A-42P), and Jackson LaCombe (9G-26A-30P). All three are now suiting up professionally for NHL franchises.
- Cooley with the Arizona Coyotes, #3 pick in 2022 Draft
- Knies with the Toronto Maple Leafs, #57 pick in 2021
- LaCombe with the Anaheim Ducks, #39 pick in 2019
Minnesota does return their second leading point score from a season ago in Jimmy Snuggerud. Snuggerud finished last season with 21 goals, 29 assists, for 50 points, a total that ranked him top-five nationally.
Tommies in the Polls
St. Thomas received votes in a national poll for the first time this preseason. When the first USCHO National Poll came out on Sept. 25, the Tommies received four votes, one of 20 programs listed outside of the top-20. Also found on the poll were St. Thomas opponents Minnesota (3), St. Cloud (8), Michigan Tech (10), Minnesota Duluth (17), with Minnesota State, Northern Michigan, Bemidji State and Bowling Green also receiving votes.
After a successful weekend that included an overtime thriller against #8 St. Cloud State, the Tommies acquired some more votes in the USCHO weekly poll. Their 15 votes are the most in program history. The Minnesota Gophers moved up one spot in the poll to the #2 spot after not playing a regular season game during the first weekend of the year.
The Toms were also given some love in the CCHA preseason coaches' poll. St. Thomas was picked to finish fifth, two places above where they finished out the season last year. The Purple were one of just three teams to receive a first-place vote (Michigan Tech-4 and Northern Michigan-3).
Tommies and Gophers Head-to-Head
The University of St. Thomas and University of Minnesota Men's Hockey teams have never played a true division one regular season matchup. Their games on the ice at the Xcel Energy Center and 3M Arena at Mariucci will be the first two of the budding crosstown rivalry.
The Tommies have matched up with Minnesota for exhibitions in the past and played them occasionally in the 1910's and 1920's.
A season ago
Year two of the DI era for head coach Rico Blasi's team was a major step in the right direction. After winning just three games in year one under Blasi the Tommies more than tripled their wins.
The Purple finished out the season by grabbing at least one points from nine straight CCHA series. They beat all seven conference opponents at least once, including two wins against the top-two finishers in the league (Michigan Tech and Minnesota State).
Picked for eighth place in the preseason coaches' poll, the Toms finished in seventh.
Eight freshmen skaters combined to score more than half of the team's points:
45 goals and 72 assists by Luc Laylin, Ryan O'Neill, Lucas Wahlin, Jake Braccini, Josh Eernisse, Cooper Gay, Carson Peters, Quinton Pepper and Brady Simmons-Fischer (52 percent of team's goals). The Tommies welcome back all but one of those back this season.
It was another freshman standout between the pipes for the Tommies in Aaron Trotter. Trotter finished the season with a goals against average below three and a save percentage above .900. The freshman secured all 11 wins for the Toms and finished of the first shutout in program history against Lake Superior State on Nov. 25, 2022.
The program's first shutout was not the only "first" that happened during the 2022-23 season. The team picked up its first overtime win (Oct. 8 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks), first road overtime win (Feb. 3 at Minnesota State), first win when trailing after two periods (Oct. 8 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks), and first series sweep (Nov. 25-26 vs. Lake Superior State).
St. Thomas battled through 10 one-goal losses and allowed 50 fewer goals from the previous season over 36 games (1.3 per game less). They were 10-3-1 when allowing two goals or less.
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