University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, February 24
Mendota Heights, Minn.
7:07 p.m. Central
11-20-2, 10-13-2
3
vs
1
Bemidji State
13-15-5, 11-11-3
1
2
3
F
Bemidji St.
1
0
0
1
St. Thomas (MN)
1
1
1
3
Team Stats
BSU
UST
Shots
27
23
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
3
Penalty Mins
7
6
Faceoffs Won
29
25
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
2
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
2
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Men's Hockey starts fast, finishes well in 3-1 home win
2/24/2023 9:51:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Mendota Heights, Minn. -- Freshman Lucas Wahlin left his mark very early... and very late. His combo scoring platter let St. Thomas Men's Hockey secure a 3-1 victory over Bemidji State on Friday night at Saint Thomas Ice Arena in game one of their weekend series.
Wahlin scored 17 seconds into the contest on a rebound shot for a fast 1-0 Tommie lead. After Cooper Gay's second-period goal put the Toms back ahead 2-1, Wahlin clinched the hard-earned victory with a long empty-net shot that found all net with 21 seconds remaining in regulation time for a 3-1 cushion.
Freshman Aaron Trotter stopped 26 of 27 shots for the Purple, who have won three of their last four games.
The Tommies (11-20-2 overall, 10-13-2 CCHA) continued their strong play -- they have scored at least one point in nine consecutive CCHA series dating back to Thanksgiving.
Bemidji and St. Thomas didn't play for 22 seasons from 1999 through 2021. The Toms were 0-5-1 against BSU over the last 15 months since joining D-!, including several close games. This marked the Toms' first win over the Beavers in 24 seasons. St. Thomas now has a victory over all seven CCHA opponents in year two of D-I play.
Bemidji and St. Thomas didn't play for 22 seasons from 1999 through 2021. The Toms were 0-5-1 against BSU over the last 15 months since joining D-!, including several close games. This marked the Toms' first win over the Beavers in 24 seasons. St. Thomas now has a victory over all seven CCHA opponents in year two of D-I play.
After a 2-12 start to the 2022-23 season, the Purple are 9-8-2 over their last 19 contests. Coach Rico Blasi's team improved to 10-3-1 this season in games when they allow two or fewer goals.
Gay's tip in goal in front of the net -- his fourth score of the year -- was his first goal in 20 games and his first college game-winning goal. Seven different players have scored St. Thomas' last nine goals.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi:
""Our start was really good, when you score right away like that, it gives the guys a lot of momentum. I thought we did a pretty good job of battling, staying engaged and committing to battles, and we blocked a lot of shots. They force you to make a lot of bad plays, I thought we handled ourselves pretty well...
"We just found a way to win. At this time of the year, everyone is playing pretty well, and you have to find ways, get bounces, be opportunistic, and I thought we were that tonight.
"They have a really good D corps, they dictate the (pace of the) game a lot. They are really good at making small plays that are subtle but very effective. So you have to stay above pucks and do a good job of coming back into your own end and protecting your net front. For the most part I thought we did a good job of that."
"They are going to come out hard (Saturday), we have to be ready for that. We have to play our game and control the things that we can control, and pay attention to detail and be disciplined."
Next Up
The teams close the weekend series back on the Toms' home ice Saturday with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop. It's Senior Night for nine Tommies and the final regular-season contest. The best-of-3 CCHA playoff quarterfinal round starts March 3-5.
Did You Know?
The previous D-I era record for fastest goal also involved Wahlin on an assist. Back in October, Ryan O'Neill scored 25 seconds into the home game against Alaska-Fairbanks. In a 2021-22 exhibition game against the Minnesota Gophers, Andrew Kangas scored 11 seconds into the contest.
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi:
""Our start was really good, when you score right away like that, it gives the guys a lot of momentum. I thought we did a pretty good job of battling, staying engaged and committing to battles, and we blocked a lot of shots. They force you to make a lot of bad plays, I thought we handled ourselves pretty well...
"We just found a way to win. At this time of the year, everyone is playing pretty well, and you have to find ways, get bounces, be opportunistic, and I thought we were that tonight.
"They have a really good D corps, they dictate the (pace of the) game a lot. They are really good at making small plays that are subtle but very effective. So you have to stay above pucks and do a good job of coming back into your own end and protecting your net front. For the most part I thought we did a good job of that."
"They are going to come out hard (Saturday), we have to be ready for that. We have to play our game and control the things that we can control, and pay attention to detail and be disciplined."
Next Up
The teams close the weekend series back on the Toms' home ice Saturday with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop. It's Senior Night for nine Tommies and the final regular-season contest. The best-of-3 CCHA playoff quarterfinal round starts March 3-5.
Did You Know?
The previous D-I era record for fastest goal also involved Wahlin on an assist. Back in October, Ryan O'Neill scored 25 seconds into the home game against Alaska-Fairbanks. In a 2021-22 exhibition game against the Minnesota Gophers, Andrew Kangas scored 11 seconds into the contest.
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