University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Mendota Heights, Minn.
6:07 p.m. Central
3-5-3, 2-2-2
6
vs
3
Bowling Green
5-4-1, 2-1-1
1
2
3
F
Bowling Green
1
1
1
3
St. Thomas (MN)
2
3
1
6
Team Stats
BGS
UST
Shots
35
33
PPG
0
3
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
5
Penalty Mins
8
10
Faceoffs Won
40
32
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
3
+/-
0
Goals
2
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's HockeyD
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: George Dannecker
Power play shines in 6-3 victory for Men’s Hockey
11/16/2024 11:57:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Cooper Gay scores two power play goals to headline the Toms’ complete effort
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (3-5-3 overall, 2-2-2 CCHA) got the job done on Saturday night with a commanding 6-3 win over the Bowling Green Falcons (5-4-1 overall, 2-1-1 CCHA) in front of its home crowd at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
The Tommies scored three power play goals on four attempts, two from Cooper Gay and one from Matthew Gleason. Caige Sterzer added his first goal as a Tommie while Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill tallied goals as well. Aaron Trotter made stops on 32 of the 35 shots he faced while anchoring a defense that killed all five of the penalties they faced to secure the victory.
Recap
The Tommies scored the game's first goal for the fourth game in a row, but this time they did something they hadn't before…won the game.
Cooper Gay got the Toms on the board at 8:36 in the first period in the final moments of a 4-on-4 sequence. Aaron Trotter made two consecutive saves to keep the game level before a shot from a Bowling Green defenseman got blocked by the stick shaft of Gay. The blocked puck bounced ahead of him as he raced toward the Falcon net with no one to beat but Cole Moore in net. The junior buried it and gave the Tommies the lead. A lead that would last the remaining 51 minutes.
The Toms' next goal came at 14:00 in the first on a hustle play from Caige Sterzer. The Lindenwood transfer shot the puck from below the goal line while cutting toward the crease. The puck deflected off the stick of a back-checking Bowling Green defenseman and into the back of the net. It was Sterzer's first in Purple, Luc Laylin assisted on the play, his first of the season.
Bowling Green answered quickly with a goal at 15:24 to quell the Tommies celebratory mood. The Falcons outshot the Tommies 13-9 in the first frame but were 0-2 on the power play.
The Tommies scored their third of the game and first of three in the second period at 2:26. Matthew Gleason redirected a Casy Laylin point shot over the shoulder of the goaltender on the power play. Ethan Gauer assisted on the play for his first helper of the season. Again, Bowling Green chopped the Tommie lead to one with a goal at 9:58.
Lucas Wahlin was the beneficiary of a strong forecheck from Liam Malmquist who forced an errant pass directly onto Ryan O'Neill's stick. O'Neill fed Wahlin on the rush and the captain scored at 15:13. It was O'Neill's 50th career point as he became the second Tommie in program history to do so (Wahlin was the first).
Cooper Gay struck once again at 16:20 on the power play to give the Toms their first three-goal lead of the season. Chase Foley shot a puck from the point and as it ricocheted off a Falcon defenseman, settled in front of Moore before Gay shoveled it over the netminder's pad, celebrating after it trickled past the goal line.
Bowling Green scored at 3:15 in the second to cut the lead to two, but the Tommies reclaimed their three-goal margin at 17:37 with Ryan O'Neill's snipe off a rebound from a blocked Ethan Gauer shot.
The Falcons outshot the Toms 35-33 but Aaron Trotter made a number of highlight reel saves to give his team their second conference win of the season. Matthew Gleason was the only Tommie to win more faceoffs than he lost (13-12) as the Purple were outdrawn 40-32.
Tommie Tidbits
Up Next
Tommie Men's Hockey goes on its first true road trip of the season with a weekend journey to square off with the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, November 22 at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday, November 23 at 6:07 p.m.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Men's Hockey team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieMHockey.
Tickets
Single game tickets are still available for all Tommie Men's Hockey games at Saint Thomas Ice Arena. Click here for tickets!
The Tommies scored three power play goals on four attempts, two from Cooper Gay and one from Matthew Gleason. Caige Sterzer added his first goal as a Tommie while Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill tallied goals as well. Aaron Trotter made stops on 32 of the 35 shots he faced while anchoring a defense that killed all five of the penalties they faced to secure the victory.
Recap
The Tommies scored the game's first goal for the fourth game in a row, but this time they did something they hadn't before…won the game.
Cooper Gay got the Toms on the board at 8:36 in the first period in the final moments of a 4-on-4 sequence. Aaron Trotter made two consecutive saves to keep the game level before a shot from a Bowling Green defenseman got blocked by the stick shaft of Gay. The blocked puck bounced ahead of him as he raced toward the Falcon net with no one to beat but Cole Moore in net. The junior buried it and gave the Tommies the lead. A lead that would last the remaining 51 minutes.
The Toms' next goal came at 14:00 in the first on a hustle play from Caige Sterzer. The Lindenwood transfer shot the puck from below the goal line while cutting toward the crease. The puck deflected off the stick of a back-checking Bowling Green defenseman and into the back of the net. It was Sterzer's first in Purple, Luc Laylin assisted on the play, his first of the season.
Bowling Green answered quickly with a goal at 15:24 to quell the Tommies celebratory mood. The Falcons outshot the Tommies 13-9 in the first frame but were 0-2 on the power play.
The Tommies scored their third of the game and first of three in the second period at 2:26. Matthew Gleason redirected a Casy Laylin point shot over the shoulder of the goaltender on the power play. Ethan Gauer assisted on the play for his first helper of the season. Again, Bowling Green chopped the Tommie lead to one with a goal at 9:58.
Lucas Wahlin was the beneficiary of a strong forecheck from Liam Malmquist who forced an errant pass directly onto Ryan O'Neill's stick. O'Neill fed Wahlin on the rush and the captain scored at 15:13. It was O'Neill's 50th career point as he became the second Tommie in program history to do so (Wahlin was the first).
Cooper Gay struck once again at 16:20 on the power play to give the Toms their first three-goal lead of the season. Chase Foley shot a puck from the point and as it ricocheted off a Falcon defenseman, settled in front of Moore before Gay shoveled it over the netminder's pad, celebrating after it trickled past the goal line.
Bowling Green scored at 3:15 in the second to cut the lead to two, but the Tommies reclaimed their three-goal margin at 17:37 with Ryan O'Neill's snipe off a rebound from a blocked Ethan Gauer shot.
The Falcons outshot the Toms 35-33 but Aaron Trotter made a number of highlight reel saves to give his team their second conference win of the season. Matthew Gleason was the only Tommie to win more faceoffs than he lost (13-12) as the Purple were outdrawn 40-32.
Tommie Tidbits
- The Tommies scored six goals in a game for the first time since scoring seven against Ferris State last season on 12/2/23. It is the third time in program history the Tommies scored at least six goals at home, last done on 11/4/23 against the Northern Michigan Wildcats.
- St. Thomas was outshot in the game, 35-33. It was their first win of the season when being outshot (1-2-1). It was also their first win when scoring a power play goal (1-2-1).
- The Toms are 2-0-1 following a tie this season. Their three ties this year are the most in single season in program history.
- Caige Sterzer's first period goal was the first of his Tommie career (he scored 14 goals for Lindenwood). He became the 42nd player in DI program history to record a goal.
- Ethan Gauer added two points on a couple of assists. It was the fifth year senior's third career multi-point game.
- Cooper Gay scored two power play goals in a single game for just the second time in program history and first time since Luc Laylin did it against Minnesota State 652 days ago on 2/3/23.
- Gay is the third Tommie this season with two goals in a single game (Mason Poolman & Matthew Gleason).
- With Gay's two goals he is now the CCHA leader with seven on the season.
- Liam Malmquist did not tally a point tonight but remains atop the CCHA leaderboard with 12 points in 11 games this season.
Up Next
Tommie Men's Hockey goes on its first true road trip of the season with a weekend journey to square off with the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, November 22 at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday, November 23 at 6:07 p.m.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Men's Hockey team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieMHockey.
Tickets
Single game tickets are still available for all Tommie Men's Hockey games at Saint Thomas Ice Arena. Click here for tickets!
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