University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, January 19
Marquette, Mich. / Berry Events Center
6:07 p.m. Central
at
Northern Michigan
Photo by: Abby Bondi
Men's Hockey looks to keep rolling with games against Northern Michigan
1/18/2024 4:09:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The Tommies defend their first place position in the CCHA with two games against Northern Michigan on the road.
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
ON THE RADIO
FLOHOCKEY.TV
MICHIGAN TECH SWEEP
The Toms took both games from the Michigan Tech Huskies last weekend on home ice. It was St. Thomas' first sweep of Tech in program history. St. Thomas won a nailbiter in game one, 4-3 and dominated the action on Saturday in game two with a 3-1 victory.
The Purple jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game with goals from Liam Malmquist, Tim Piechowski, and Luc Laylin. The Huskies answered back with two goals in 45 seconds during the second period. The Toms restored their two-goal lead on the power play with Mason Poolman's first career goal. Michigan Tech scored one more goal in the third period, but their comeback effort was thwarted by Aaron Trotter who made 32 saves in the win.
Neither team scored in the first 25 minutes of game two. Michigan Tech scored first but Lucas Wahlin struck back with a goal 48 seconds later. The Toms never looked back. Cooper Gay scored with 59 seconds remaining in the second period and Mack Byers scored on the power play in the third to seal the deal. Jake SIbell made 27 of 28 saves in 55 minutes in the crease. Aaron Trotter replaced him and made two saves down the stretch to lock up the win.
SUPER SIBELL (AGAIN)
Sibell saved 27 of the 28 shots he faced in the Toms' 3-1 win over Michigan Tech last weekend. His performance earned him his second CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor of the season. The junior is fourth in the nation with a 1.85 goals against average and second in the country with a .933 save percentage.
THE CHASE IS ON
Chase Cheslock will be playing in his fifth and sixth game at the collegiate level after being called in from the USHL at the semester break. He notched his first collegiate point last weekend against Michigan Tech. The 6-3 defenseman out of Rogers, Minn. played 30 games across two seasons for the Omaha Lancers and added 13 points. He is the Toms' first NHL draftee after his selection by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. He was a two-year captain at Rogers High School and also wore the "C" in Omaha. Cheslock played one game for the U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP), the first Tommie to do so.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
SERIES HISTORY
TOMMIES AGAINST WILDCATS THIS SEASON
POINT STREAKS
STAT RANKINGS
TOMMIE HAT TRICK
CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
CCHA GOALTENDERS OF THE MONTH
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
DECEMBER RECAP
NOVEMBER RECAP
OCTOBER RECAP
COACH BLASI
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
NON-CONFERENCE
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
NHL DRAFT PICKS
CAPTAINS
TRANSFERS
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked fifth in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll. The Toms did receive one of the eight first place votes. Michigan Tech finished on top with Northern Michigan and Bowling Green rounding out the top-three. Bemidji State finished four votes in front of the Purple. Minnesota State finished with 45 votes, same as St. Thomas. Ferris State and Lake Superior State rounded out the poll. St. Thomas did not earn any individual player preseason coach awards.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked sixth in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll. Michigan Tech was picked first with 11 of the 16 first place votes with Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Minnesota State behind all receiving at least one first place vote. Bemidji State finished one place in front of the Purple with Ferris State and Lake Superior State bringing up the rear. St. Thomas did not earn any individual player preseason media awards.
- St. Thomas travels to Northern Michigan for a CCHA road series.
- The puck drops at 6:07 p.m. central Friday night and 5:07 p.m. central Saturday night at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.
- The Tommies are 11-10-1 overall and 9-5-0 in the CCHA. The Wildcats are 7-11-2 overall and 5-7-0 in the CCHA.
- This is the final regular season meeting of the season, the Toms won the first two in Mendota Heights in November.
ON THE RADIO
- ESPN 1500 is the home of all St. Thomas Men's Hockey games.
- Fans can listen on the radio at 1500 AM, online at https://live.skornorth.com/listen/ or on the Varsity Sports App.
FLOHOCKEY.TV
- All St. Thomas and CCHA games will be live-streamed on FloHockey,tv.
- FloSports provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
- FloSports is available on IOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.
MICHIGAN TECH SWEEP
The Toms took both games from the Michigan Tech Huskies last weekend on home ice. It was St. Thomas' first sweep of Tech in program history. St. Thomas won a nailbiter in game one, 4-3 and dominated the action on Saturday in game two with a 3-1 victory.
The Purple jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game with goals from Liam Malmquist, Tim Piechowski, and Luc Laylin. The Huskies answered back with two goals in 45 seconds during the second period. The Toms restored their two-goal lead on the power play with Mason Poolman's first career goal. Michigan Tech scored one more goal in the third period, but their comeback effort was thwarted by Aaron Trotter who made 32 saves in the win.
Neither team scored in the first 25 minutes of game two. Michigan Tech scored first but Lucas Wahlin struck back with a goal 48 seconds later. The Toms never looked back. Cooper Gay scored with 59 seconds remaining in the second period and Mack Byers scored on the power play in the third to seal the deal. Jake SIbell made 27 of 28 saves in 55 minutes in the crease. Aaron Trotter replaced him and made two saves down the stretch to lock up the win.
SUPER SIBELL (AGAIN)
Sibell saved 27 of the 28 shots he faced in the Toms' 3-1 win over Michigan Tech last weekend. His performance earned him his second CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor of the season. The junior is fourth in the nation with a 1.85 goals against average and second in the country with a .933 save percentage.
THE CHASE IS ON
Chase Cheslock will be playing in his fifth and sixth game at the collegiate level after being called in from the USHL at the semester break. He notched his first collegiate point last weekend against Michigan Tech. The 6-3 defenseman out of Rogers, Minn. played 30 games across two seasons for the Omaha Lancers and added 13 points. He is the Toms' first NHL draftee after his selection by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. He was a two-year captain at Rogers High School and also wore the "C" in Omaha. Cheslock played one game for the U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP), the first Tommie to do so.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
- Overall record (7-11-2) – CCHA record (5-7-0) – sixth place in the CCHA (15 points)
- Currently on a two-game losing streak and have lost four of last five games
- Andre Ghantous leads the team with 21 points and Tanner Latsch leads with seven goals
- Beni Halasz in net – 4-7-2, 377SV 45GA 3.38GAA .893SV% - Charlie Glockner in net – 3-4-0, 169SV 22GA 3.26GAA .885SV%
- Lead the CCHA in blocks (322) and penalty minutes (264)
- Bottom of the CCHA in penalty kill % (.739)
SERIES HISTORY
- The Tommies are 3-3-0 all time against the Northern Michigan Wildcats
- NMU won the first three meetings (4-1, 8-3, 3-0)
- St. Thomas has won the last three (4-2, 4-2, 6-1)
- The Tommies have not trailed Northern Michigan in a game since Feb. 10 2023
- The Purple have never won a game in Marquette, Mich. (0-2-0)
- Ryan O'Neill, Lucas Wahlin, and Noah Prokop own the three game-winners in the series
- Aaron Trotter – 2-1-0, 56SV 7GA .889SV% 2.33GAA in career against NMU
- Jake Sibell – 1-0-0, 26SV 1GA .963SV% 1.03GAA
TOMMIES AGAINST WILDCATS THIS SEASON
- Lucas Wahlin – 3G 1A 4P
- Noah Prokop – 1G 2A 3P
- Mack Byers – 2G 0A 2P
- J.D. Metz – 1G 1A 2P
- Luke Manning – 2G 0A 2P
- James Marooney 0G 2A 2P
- Ryan O'Neill – 0G 2A 2P
- Quinton Pepper – 0G 2A 2P
- Ethan Gauer – 0G 2A 2P
- Matthew Gleason 0G 1A 1P
- Jake Braccini – 1G 0A 1P
- Cooper Gay – 0G 1A 1P
- Aaron Trotter – 21SV 1-0-0
- Jake Sibell – 26SV 1-0-0
POINT STREAKS
- Jake Braccini (two-game)
- Grant Docter (two-game)
- Liam Malmquist (two-game)
STAT RANKINGS
- Noah Prokop, 219 faceoffs won (24th in NCAA)
- Jake Sibell, .600 win percentage (22nd in NCAA)
- Jake Sibell, 1.85 goals against average (4th in NCAA)
- Jake Sibell, .933 save percentage (2nd in NCAA)
- St. Thomas, 2.68 scoring defense (21st in NCAA)
- St. Thomas, .18 scoring margin (26th in NCAA)
- St. Thomas, 9.32 PIM/G (7th least in NCAA)
- St. Thomas, 4 shorthanded goals (T-8th in NCAA)
TOMMIE HAT TRICK
- Mack Byers scored three goals against Ferris State on Dec. 2 in the 7-1 win on the road
- Byers hat trick was the first (and only) in DI program history
- He is one of 43 players in the NCAA with three goals in a game this season
- Six others in the CCHA had recorded a hat trick, Michigan Tech leads all CCHA teams with three hat tricks
CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
- Luke Manning Forward of the Week (10/9/23)
- Liam Malmquist Forward of the Week (10/23/23)
- Jake Sibell Goaltender of the Week (10/23/23)
- Lucas Wahlin Forward of the Week (11/6/23)
- Aaron Trotter Goaltender of the Week (11/13/23)
- Ryan O'Neill Forward of the Week (12/4/23)
- Jake Sibell Goaltender of the Week (1/15/24)
CCHA GOALTENDERS OF THE MONTH
- October – Jake Sibell
- November – Aaron Trotter
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
- Mack Byers (28), Luke Manning (22), Lucas Wahlin (15) and Luc Laylin (15) round out the top three in DI goals scored
- Lucas Wahlin (44), Mack Byers (40), and Luke Manning (36) make up the top three in DI points
DECEMBER RECAP
- 2-4-0 record, -5 goal differential
- Wins against Ferris State (7-1) and Minnesota State (2-1)
- Mack Byers led with four goals (three in program-first hat trick vs Ferris State)
- Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill led with seven points apiece
- Ryan O'Neill CCHA Forward of the Week (one goal and five assists against Ferris State)
NOVEMBER RECAP
- 5-1-0 record, +11 goal differential
- Longest win streak of DI era (five games, outscored foes 22-9)
- Sweeps of Northern Michigan and Bowling Green, both firsts in program history
- Split with Lake Superior State
- Mack Byers, Liam Malmquist, Lucas Wahlin, and Cooper Gay led with three goals apiece
- Quinton Pepper, Wahlin, and Malmquist led with seven points apiece
- Lucas Wahlin CCHA Forward of the Week (three goals and an assist vs. Northern Michigan), Aaron Trotter CCHA Goaltender of the Week (42 saves, one goal allowed in win vs Bowling Green)
- Aaron Trotter CCHA Goaltender of the Month (3-0-0 record, 90 saves, five goals allowed, .947 SV%, 1.67 GAA)
OCTOBER RECAP
- 2-5-1 record, -5 goal differential
- Wins against #8 St. Cloud State (5-4 OT) and Lindenwood (3-1)
- Luke Manning, Lucas Wahlin, and Cooper Gay led with three goals apiece
- Wahlin led with seven points (3G 4A)
- Luke Manning CCHA Forward of the Week (1G 2A against St. Cloud State), Liam Malmquist CCHA Forward of the Week (3A vs. Lindenwood, Jake Sibell CCHA Goaltender of the Week (1GA 15SV vs Lindenwood)
- Jake Sibell CCHA Goaltender of the Month (1-2-0 record, 64 saves, four goals allowed, .941 SV%, 1.36 GAA)
COACH BLASI
- Entering third season for St. Thomas
- During his 20-year tenure at Miami (Ohio) Blasi was the head coach of 10 NCAA Tournament teams, one national runner-up and one other Frozen Four team
- National Coach of the Year in 2005-06
- Coached one Hobey Baker Award winner (Andy Miele) and 10 Hobey Baker finalists, 10 All-America players, and 25 who went on to play in the NHL, including Stanley Cup Champions Alec Martinez, Jeff Zatkoff, Blake Coleman, and Riley Smith.
- 423 career wins (24th All-Time / 7th among active head coaches)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- Two games at Northern Michigan (7-11-2, 5-7-0) Jan. 19-20
- One week off before a home-and-home with Minnesota State (11-8-3, 7-4-1) Feb. 2 at home and Feb. 3 in Mankato
- First trip to the brand new Midco Arena to play Augustana (6-11-3) Feb. 9-10
- The only four-game homestand with CCHA series against Bowling Green (7-15-0, 5-7-0) Feb. 16-17 and Bemidji State (9-13-0, 8-6-0) Feb. 23-24
- Final series of the season at Michigan Tech (9-10-4, 6-6-0) Mar. 1-2
NON-CONFERENCE
- The Toms are 2-5-1 with two games remaining on the non-conference schedule. The split with #8 St. Cloud State to open the season in two one-goal games. Next came two losses against the #2 Golden Gophers (6-5 OT loss at Xcel Energy Center, 3-0 loss at Mariucci) and then a 3-1 win and 4-4 tie against Lindenwood. After 12 conference games the Toms returned to out of conference competition with two defeats in Vermont. Of their 12 remaining games, two are against future CCHA foe Augustana on Feb. 9-10.
- St. Thomas has a -9 goal differential in eight non-con games.
- The Tommies played four games against ranked non-con opponents, they were 1-3-0 with two one-goal losses.
- 1-1-1 home record, 1-3-0 away record, 0-1-0 neutral site record
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
- Chase Cheslock (New Jersey Devils)
- Ryder Donovan (Vegas Golden Knights)
- Aaron Trotter (Washington Capitals)
NHL DRAFT PICKS
- Ryder Donovan was selected as the 110th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
- Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils.
CAPTAINS
- Sophomore Lucas Wahlin wears the "C" for coach Rico Blasi's squad. Wahlin, a Woodbury, Minn. native, finished with 21 points in 26 games last season while battling injury. He played for three teams over three seasons in both the NAHL and USHL before finding a home in St. Paul.
- Seniors Luke Manning and Mack Byers don the "A" this season. Both are one-time transfers, Manning from Air Force and Byers from Northern Michigan. Manning played nine games for the D-III Tommies and has 38 points in two-plus seasons for the D-I Toms. Byers led the team with 26 points in his first season with the Purple last year.
- All three captains are from Minnesota.
TRANSFERS
- James Marooney played at Ohio State for four seasons. The defenseman played 80 games for the Buckeyes in four seasons and added five points in 26 games last year for the third-place Big Ten team.
- Matthew Gleason appeared in 70 games for Colorado College over two full seasons before joining the Tommies. He was a two-time member of the All-Academic team in the NCHC.
- Jake Ratzlaff played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers before a brief stint with the Madison Capitols last year. He was a highly touted hockey recruit coming out of high school but opted to play on the gridiron.
- Noah Prokop is a two-time transfer. He played two seasons in Omaha before making the change to play with Gleason at Colorado College. He is a four-time All-Academic team selection.
- Liam Malmquist is also a transfer from Wisconsin, but he played two seasons of college hockey. He tallied 16 points in 68 games for the Badgers and was a selection to the Big Ten All-Academic team.
- Ryder Donovan played with Malmquist in Madison. The Duluth, Minn. native was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He played 89 games for the Badgers and took a break from hockey for the 2022-23 season before returning with the Tommies.
- Jake Sibell transferred from the Purple Eagles of Niagara University. Over two seasons in New York he played in 13 games with a 2-7-1 record.
- All but one of the Toms' seven transfers (Noah Prokop from Highlands Ranch, Colo.) is a native of Minnesota.
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked fifth in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll. The Toms did receive one of the eight first place votes. Michigan Tech finished on top with Northern Michigan and Bowling Green rounding out the top-three. Bemidji State finished four votes in front of the Purple. Minnesota State finished with 45 votes, same as St. Thomas. Ferris State and Lake Superior State rounded out the poll. St. Thomas did not earn any individual player preseason coach awards.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked sixth in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll. Michigan Tech was picked first with 11 of the 16 first place votes with Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Minnesota State behind all receiving at least one first place vote. Bemidji State finished one place in front of the Purple with Ferris State and Lake Superior State bringing up the rear. St. Thomas did not earn any individual player preseason media awards.
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/ Men's HockeyPress Conference: Rico Blasi January 27th 2025
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Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
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