University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, December 1
Big Rapids, Mich. / Ewigleben Ice Arena
6:07 p.m. Central
at
Ferris State
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
On the road again; Men’s Hockey in Big Rapids Michigan for a pair with Ferris State
11/30/2023 1:17:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The first place Tommies are through one-third of their CCHA schedule with two more series with conference foes before the end of the calendar year.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (7-6-1, 5-3-0 CCHA) split their series with Lake Superior State a weekend ago on home ice. The Tommies are currently at the top of the table in the CCHA with 15 points, but only six points separate them from sixth place. They turn their attention to the Ferris State Bulldogs (4-7-1, 2-4-0) who are coming off a bye week.
The Bulldogs shocked the conference last season, defeating the Bowling Green Falcons on the road during the first round of the playoffs and securing a birth in the CCHA semifinals. They lost to the ultimate champion Minnesota State team, 7-2.
This season Ferris State has split with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, both of their wins came in overtime. They were swept by the Mavericks in a semi-final rematch but earned one point in the game-two overtime loss.
St. Thomas' program-best five game win streak came to an end in their game-two loss against the Lakers last weekend. The Tommies had swept CCHA opponents Northern Michigan and Bowling Green in back-to-back weekends after being swept by Bemidji State. Quinton Pepper's emergence helped the Toms through their win streak with seven points and two game-winning goals. The Purple were also backed up by tremendous goaltending from Aaron Trotter and Jacob Sibell throughout the month of November.
Trott-vember
For the first time in his young career, Aaron Trotter earned CCHA Goaltender of the Month for his 3-0-0 record, 90 saves, .947 save percentage, and 1.67 goals against average in November.
His successful month started with a win against the Northern Michigan Wildcats and kicked off the Toms' program-best five game CCHA win streak. Trotter gave up just two power play goals while stopping 21 pucks to seal the deal on a 4-2 victory.
He continued with a vintage performance against the Bowling Green Falcons, which won him his first CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor this season. He stopped 41 of 42 shots and the lone goal he allowed came on a Falcon power play. Trotter led the charge to a 4-1 victory on the road, the first road win at Bowling Green in program history.
The third and final start of his month also ended with a victory, this time a 4-2 win over Lake Superior State at home. Trotter made 27 saves and allowed just two goals.
Overall, the sophomore lowered his season goals against average to a CCHA fifth 2.85 and raised his save percentage to a CCHA fourth .905.
This is the second consecutive month that the Goaltender of the Month award was given to a Tommie. Jacob Sibell earned the award for his play in October. It is the first time that the award has been given to two different goalies on the same team since this iteration of the CCHA was formed in 2021.
Trotter and Sibell have been the best goalie tandem in the conference and one of the best in the nation with a combined goals against average of 2.55 and .909 save percentage.
Red Hot Quinton Pepper
Quinton is in his second season donning the St. Thomas shield, he has played 44 games, 10 this season. The sophomore went 41 games without scoring a goal and finished his freshman year with four points in 34 contests.
The Ontario native scored a point in all five of the Toms' wins during their program-best win streak that was snapped against Lake State last time out.
He added seven points in the five games, highlighted by a three-point performance against Bowling Green. He scored his first career goal that night in the final minute to finish off the sweep of the Falcons. Game one against the Lakers meant another goal for Pepper and another game-winner. He also earned a +8 rating during that stretch.
In his first 38 games, Pepper tallied four assists, in his last six he has two goals and five assists for seven points. The Toms are 5-0 this season when Pepper adds a point and 2-6-1 when he does not.
Cats and Dogs
The Tommies and Bulldogs have split their eight matchups over the past two seasons. Ferris State came out on top last time out at the Saint Thomas Ice Arena 4-2.
Antonio Venuto currently leads the Bulldogs with nine goals, surpassing his six goals from last season. His nine goals have him ranked eighth in the nation in goals per game and 10th in the country with his four power play goals. He had one assist in that 4-2 win over the Toms last season. Also scoring in that game were returners Brendan MacLauren and Bradley Marek.
Aaron Trotter started in all four games last season against Ferris State and worked to a 2-2-0 record. He made 108 saves for a .880 save percentage including a 34 save performance on the road in the Toms' 5-2 victory.
The Bulldogs (much like the Tommies this season) have split their starts in goal between two netminders, Logan Stein and Noah Giesbecht. Stein has played in their last three games and carries a 2-3-1 record with a stellar 2.35 goals against average and .926 save percentage. Giesbecht has a similar record, 2-4-0, but does not have the quality numbers in net so far with a 4.74 GAA and .857 SV%.
Leading scorers for the Tommies against the Bulldogs last season: Jake Braccini 2G 4A 6P, Lucas Wahlin 1G 4A 5P, Ryan O'Neill 5A 5P, Mack Byers 4G 4P, Luke Manning 3G 1A 4P, Luc Laylin 4A 4P.
The Bulldogs shocked the conference last season, defeating the Bowling Green Falcons on the road during the first round of the playoffs and securing a birth in the CCHA semifinals. They lost to the ultimate champion Minnesota State team, 7-2.
This season Ferris State has split with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, both of their wins came in overtime. They were swept by the Mavericks in a semi-final rematch but earned one point in the game-two overtime loss.
St. Thomas' program-best five game win streak came to an end in their game-two loss against the Lakers last weekend. The Tommies had swept CCHA opponents Northern Michigan and Bowling Green in back-to-back weekends after being swept by Bemidji State. Quinton Pepper's emergence helped the Toms through their win streak with seven points and two game-winning goals. The Purple were also backed up by tremendous goaltending from Aaron Trotter and Jacob Sibell throughout the month of November.
Trott-vember
For the first time in his young career, Aaron Trotter earned CCHA Goaltender of the Month for his 3-0-0 record, 90 saves, .947 save percentage, and 1.67 goals against average in November.
His successful month started with a win against the Northern Michigan Wildcats and kicked off the Toms' program-best five game CCHA win streak. Trotter gave up just two power play goals while stopping 21 pucks to seal the deal on a 4-2 victory.
He continued with a vintage performance against the Bowling Green Falcons, which won him his first CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor this season. He stopped 41 of 42 shots and the lone goal he allowed came on a Falcon power play. Trotter led the charge to a 4-1 victory on the road, the first road win at Bowling Green in program history.
The third and final start of his month also ended with a victory, this time a 4-2 win over Lake Superior State at home. Trotter made 27 saves and allowed just two goals.
Overall, the sophomore lowered his season goals against average to a CCHA fifth 2.85 and raised his save percentage to a CCHA fourth .905.
This is the second consecutive month that the Goaltender of the Month award was given to a Tommie. Jacob Sibell earned the award for his play in October. It is the first time that the award has been given to two different goalies on the same team since this iteration of the CCHA was formed in 2021.
Trotter and Sibell have been the best goalie tandem in the conference and one of the best in the nation with a combined goals against average of 2.55 and .909 save percentage.
Red Hot Quinton Pepper
Quinton is in his second season donning the St. Thomas shield, he has played 44 games, 10 this season. The sophomore went 41 games without scoring a goal and finished his freshman year with four points in 34 contests.
The Ontario native scored a point in all five of the Toms' wins during their program-best win streak that was snapped against Lake State last time out.
He added seven points in the five games, highlighted by a three-point performance against Bowling Green. He scored his first career goal that night in the final minute to finish off the sweep of the Falcons. Game one against the Lakers meant another goal for Pepper and another game-winner. He also earned a +8 rating during that stretch.
In his first 38 games, Pepper tallied four assists, in his last six he has two goals and five assists for seven points. The Toms are 5-0 this season when Pepper adds a point and 2-6-1 when he does not.
Cats and Dogs
The Tommies and Bulldogs have split their eight matchups over the past two seasons. Ferris State came out on top last time out at the Saint Thomas Ice Arena 4-2.
Antonio Venuto currently leads the Bulldogs with nine goals, surpassing his six goals from last season. His nine goals have him ranked eighth in the nation in goals per game and 10th in the country with his four power play goals. He had one assist in that 4-2 win over the Toms last season. Also scoring in that game were returners Brendan MacLauren and Bradley Marek.
Aaron Trotter started in all four games last season against Ferris State and worked to a 2-2-0 record. He made 108 saves for a .880 save percentage including a 34 save performance on the road in the Toms' 5-2 victory.
The Bulldogs (much like the Tommies this season) have split their starts in goal between two netminders, Logan Stein and Noah Giesbecht. Stein has played in their last three games and carries a 2-3-1 record with a stellar 2.35 goals against average and .926 save percentage. Giesbecht has a similar record, 2-4-0, but does not have the quality numbers in net so far with a 4.74 GAA and .857 SV%.
Leading scorers for the Tommies against the Bulldogs last season: Jake Braccini 2G 4A 6P, Lucas Wahlin 1G 4A 5P, Ryan O'Neill 5A 5P, Mack Byers 4G 4P, Luke Manning 3G 1A 4P, Luc Laylin 4A 4P.
Players Mentioned
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