University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, February 3
Mankato, Minn.
7:07 p.m. Central
8-17-2, 7-10-2
3
at
2
Minnesota State
18-10-1, 13-7-1
1
2
3
OT 1
F
St. Thomas (MN)
1
0
1
1
3
Minnesota St.
0
0
2
0
2
Team Stats
UST
MSU
Shots
14
45
PPG
2
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
3
Penalty Mins
6
6
Faceoffs Won
23
40
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
-1
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Abby Bondi
Mack-nificent ending for Men's Hockey with OT win over ranked Mavs
2/3/2023 10:31:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Mankato, Minn. -- Thanks to late game-heroics by Luc Laylin and Mack Byers, plus a 43-save night by goalie Aaron Trotter, Tommie Men's Hockey came away with its best Division I victory to date here Friday night.
With a crowd of 4,814 on hand, St. Thomas beat Minnesota State for the first time in nine tries as it closed off a thrilling comeback with a 3-2, overtime road win over the No. 13-ranked and first-place Mavericks.
The Tommies (8-17-2 overall, 7-10-1 CCHA) ended MSU's eight-game win streak despite the home team's 45-14 edge in shots on goal. St. Thomas also extended its CCHA unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1), and has claimed at least one point in each of the last six conference series.
Over the last month, St. Thomas is 3-1-1 in its last five CCHA games, all against the conference's top three teams.
This was the Purple's first victory over an in-state opponent in 19 tries so far in its young D-I era. Coach Rico Blasi's team went 0-6 last season and 0-2 earlier this season against Minnesota State. The Toms also are 0-5-1 so far vs. Bemidji State, and 0-4 vs. St. Cloud State.
Laylin scored two power-play goals for his first two-goal night of his young career, with Josh Eernisse recording two assists. Laylin's second score came with 2:29 left in regulation on a 5-on-3 power play, forging a 2-2 tie that led to sudden-death overtime.
The Mavericks (18-10-1, 13-7-1) had the first chance in the OT session but a shot went wide. Byers dug away a puck and converted the game-winning goal off a breakaway just 61 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session.
Minnesota State trailed 1-0 into the game's final eight minutes, but scored an even-strength and a power-play goal in a 1:12 span to take a 2-1 lead. But after being on the wrong end too often vs. the Mavs, St. Thomas found a way to post the victory.
Photo: Jackson Forderer
--
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"We came out and played really well in the first period. I thought we handled their push in the second period. our (penalty kill) did a great job. Third period, we missed a little bit of an assignment for their goal, we were in the right spot just missed the block.
"Our power play came through, and in overtime, Mack makes a great play (on their goalie) goes in and buries it. I was really happy with the way we battled, really happen with our perseverance, the way we stayed in the fight tonight, that was really impressive to me. Now we have a chance to make a statement tomorrow. It's important we enjoy this a little bit, and then we get ready to play again tomorrow.
"We want to be a top team in our conference. We're coming. We're obviously playing really well, we're not intimidated any more. We're finding ways to finish out games. Really proud of the boys and the way they played tonight... (Trotter) was the best player on the ice...
"I love the way our team works. I love our fight. I love the way we stick together. Good things happen when you do that. We're starting to gain some confidence from that, because we're getting some results... It's important to focus on the process and not the outcomes."
Next Up
The two teams close out the weekend series Saturday on St. Thomas' home ice in Mendota Heights with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop.
Did You Know?
With a crowd of 4,814 on hand, St. Thomas beat Minnesota State for the first time in nine tries as it closed off a thrilling comeback with a 3-2, overtime road win over the No. 13-ranked and first-place Mavericks.
The Tommies (8-17-2 overall, 7-10-1 CCHA) ended MSU's eight-game win streak despite the home team's 45-14 edge in shots on goal. St. Thomas also extended its CCHA unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1), and has claimed at least one point in each of the last six conference series.
Over the last month, St. Thomas is 3-1-1 in its last five CCHA games, all against the conference's top three teams.
This was the Purple's first victory over an in-state opponent in 19 tries so far in its young D-I era. Coach Rico Blasi's team went 0-6 last season and 0-2 earlier this season against Minnesota State. The Toms also are 0-5-1 so far vs. Bemidji State, and 0-4 vs. St. Cloud State.
Laylin scored two power-play goals for his first two-goal night of his young career, with Josh Eernisse recording two assists. Laylin's second score came with 2:29 left in regulation on a 5-on-3 power play, forging a 2-2 tie that led to sudden-death overtime.
The Mavericks (18-10-1, 13-7-1) had the first chance in the OT session but a shot went wide. Byers dug away a puck and converted the game-winning goal off a breakaway just 61 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session.
Minnesota State trailed 1-0 into the game's final eight minutes, but scored an even-strength and a power-play goal in a 1:12 span to take a 2-1 lead. But after being on the wrong end too often vs. the Mavs, St. Thomas found a way to post the victory.
Photo: Jackson Forderer
--
Quoting Coach Rico Blasi
"We came out and played really well in the first period. I thought we handled their push in the second period. our (penalty kill) did a great job. Third period, we missed a little bit of an assignment for their goal, we were in the right spot just missed the block.
"Our power play came through, and in overtime, Mack makes a great play (on their goalie) goes in and buries it. I was really happy with the way we battled, really happen with our perseverance, the way we stayed in the fight tonight, that was really impressive to me. Now we have a chance to make a statement tomorrow. It's important we enjoy this a little bit, and then we get ready to play again tomorrow.
"We want to be a top team in our conference. We're coming. We're obviously playing really well, we're not intimidated any more. We're finding ways to finish out games. Really proud of the boys and the way they played tonight... (Trotter) was the best player on the ice...
"I love the way our team works. I love our fight. I love the way we stick together. Good things happen when you do that. We're starting to gain some confidence from that, because we're getting some results... It's important to focus on the process and not the outcomes."
Next Up
The two teams close out the weekend series Saturday on St. Thomas' home ice in Mendota Heights with a 6:07 p.m. puck drop.
Did You Know?
- The Toms are 6-3-2 in their last 11 conference games..
- Blasi's team started 0-9 this season against nationally-ranked teams, but have won two such games in a row -- 3-2 decisions over top-15-ranked Michigan Tech and now Minnesota State.
- Trotter surpassed 700 saves Friday, in his 25th game of the season. He lowered his goals-against average to 3.01 and moved his save percentage to .905.
- Byers has scored 10 goals in his last 10 CCHA games.
- Laylin has connected for five goals in his last six games.
- St. Thomas has allowed just two power-play goals in its last nine contests.
- The Toms came into this game just 2-9-1 on Friday nights this season.
- The Toms are the most improved Division I team this season from 2021-22 in win percentage with a .236 jump so far.
- Friday was the 22nd time in 27 games this season that, in period three of a game, St. Thomas led, was tied or trailed by just one goal.
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