Men's Hockey welcomes surging Falcons

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES

The Tommies begin their only four-game homestand of the season this weekend with two games against the surging Bowling Green Falcons who have won four consecutive.
Game one at Saint Thomas Ice Arena is set for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop on Friday night with game two scheduled for 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
The Tommies are 13-14-1 overall and 11-7-0 in the CCHA. The Falcons are 12-16-0 overall and have a 10-8-1 conference record.
St. Thomas has won the first two matchups of the season series this season and have won three straight dating back to last season.

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SIBELL NAMED ONE OF NATION'S TOP TENDERS
Jake Sibell was named to the semi-finalist list for the Mike Richter Award on Wednesday. Sibell is the first in program history and only this season from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) has announced the semifinalists for this year's Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey since 2014. Ten goaltenders from a "Watch List" of 30 were singled out by a panel of voters across the hockey community.

Sibell is one of two goalies on the list from Minnesota (Ryan Bischel of Notre Dame from Medina, Minn.). He is also one of two from a team within the Land of 10,000 Lakes (Justen Close from the University of Minnesota).

Three finalists will be announced in early March and the winner will be announced in April during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

SUPER SIBELL
Jake Sibell leads the CCHA in nearly every goaltending category with his 1.88 goals against average and .932 save percentage (which also leads the nation). His CCHA-only numbers are even more impressive, his 1.53 goals against average and .948 save percentage both lead the conference. The junior netminder has been named CCHA Goaltender of the Week twice this season and Goaltender of the Month on one occasion.

TOMMIE TIDBITS

Ryan O'Neill's six-game point and four-game goal streak was snapped in the overtime loss against Augustana
Rico Blasi moved into 23^rd all-time against Minnesota State with 425 career wins
The Toms are 4-5 in one-goal games this season, the Falcons are 3-5
The Purple are now 11-1-1 when scoring first, their first loss came in game one to Augustana last weekend
Cooper Gay's four game-winning goals are tied for the lead in the CCHA – they are also a DI program single season record
Mack Byer's power play goal in game two was his team-leading 12^th of the season
Tim Piechowski was the only Tommie with multiple points against Augustana, he scored one goal in each game
Mack Byers became the second DI Tommie to surpass the 50-point plateau (Luke Manning did it earlier this season) – No player has yet tallied 50 points for St. Thomas alone in the current iteration of the program – Lucas Wahlin (46), Mack Byers (45), and Ryan O'Neill (42) are the closest
Byers surpassed 100 career games played last Saturday
Game two against Augustana was the Toms' 100^th game in DI
Liam Malmquist is the only DI Tommie with multiple unassisted goals in a single season
Lucas Wahlin's 24 points have tied the Toms' single-season program record set by Mack Byers last season
Ryan O'Neill and Lucas Wahlin are the only two players in the CCHA with a 5 point game, both occurred against Ferris State on 12/2/23
Wahlin's nine shots on goal in that game are tied for the most in a game
O'Neill and Wahlin are two of the four players this season with four assists in a single game
The Toms' 20-point showing against the Bulldogs is tied for the most in a game this season
Their 63 shots on goal against Lindenwood on 10/20 are the most in a game by 15 shots

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

Overall record (12-16-0, 10-8-0 CCHA), the Falcons have won four conference games in a row and five of their last six. They shot up from seventh place in the conference a little over three weeks ago to possibly hosting a playoff series in fourth place with 30 points.
They are 3-5 in one-goal games
Junior Ryan O'Hara leads the team with 10 goals and 18 points
Goaltending has been solid this season – freshman Cole Moore is 9-9-0 with a .916SV% and 2.84GAA, he is 3-0-0 in his last three starts (.934SV% - 2.00GAA) – Christian Stoever has made 10 starts (3-7-0) with a 2.92GAA and .895SV%, he made both starts against the Tommies in Ohio earlier this season

SERIES HISTORY
The Tommies are 6-3-1 all-time against the Bowling Green Falcons. Bowling Green had one each of the first six meetings between the two by a combined score of 19-9. The tides began to shift during the final game of 2022 with a St. Thomas OT loss in Mendota Heights.

Both games the next season in Bowling Green were 3-2 victories for Bowling Green. When the Toms returned home in January of 2023 they defeated the Falcons for the first time, 4-2. They then tied BGSU 3-3 and lost in the shootout.

This season the Purple strolled into Bowling Green, Ohio on a mission and returned home with all six CCHA points. They won 4-1 in game one and then with two third-period tallies came out of game two with a 4-3 victory.

Aaron Trotter earned a CCHA Weekly Honor for his 42 saves on 43 shots faced in game one, in his career he is 2-2-1 with a .929SV% and 2.38GAA against Bowling Green. He has never allowed more than three goals in a game.

The Toms' all-time leading scorer against Bowling Green is Mack Byers with four goals and two assists for six points. Liam Malmquist and Quinton Pepper each have five career points against the Falcons. Cooper Gay has four goals.

TOMMIES AGAINST THE BOWLING GREEN THIS SEASON

Liam Malmquist 2G – 3A –5P
Quinton Pepper 1G – 3A – 4P
Cooper Gay 3G – 0A – 3P
Mack Byers 1G – 1A – 2P
J.D. Metz 1G – 0A – 1P
Matthew Gleason 0G – 1A – 1P
Lucas Wahlin 0G – 1A – 1P
Ethan Gauer 0G – 1A – 1P
Jake Braccini 0G – 1A – 1P
Noah Prokop 0G – 1A – 1P
Luke Manning 0G – 1A – 1P

GOAL STREAK

Tim Piechowski (2 games)

POINT STREAK

Tim Piechowski (2 games)

STAT RANKINGS

Cooper Gay, 4 game winning goals (T-6^th in NCAA)
Jake Sibell, .583 win percentage (19^th in NCAA)
Jake Sibell, 1.88 goals against average (2nd in NCAA)
Jake Sibell, .932 save percentage (T-1^st in NCAA)
Mack Byers, 2 shorthanded goals (T-5^th in NCAA)
St. Thomas, 2.68 scoring defense (20^th in NCAA)
St. Thomas, 10.18 PIM/G (12^th least in NCAA)
St. Thomas, 5 shorthanded goals (T-8^th 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 56 players in the NCAA with three goals in a game this season
Seven others in the CCHA have 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)
Aaron Trotter Goaltender of the Week (2/5/24)

CCHA GOALTENDERS OF THE MONTH

October – Jake Sibell
November – Aaron Trotter

DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS

Mack Byers (30), Luke Manning (22), Lucas Wahlin (16) and Luc Laylin (16) round out the top three in DI goals scored
Lucas Wahlin (46), Mack Byers (45), and Ryan O'Neill (42) make up the top three in DI points

JANUARY RECAP

3-1-0 record, +4 goal differential
First sweep of Michigan Tech in program history (4-3 and 3-1), first win on the road in program history at Northern Michigan (3-1)
Luc Laylin, Lucas Wahlin, Cooper Gay, and Ryan O'Neill each led the way with two goals
Liam Malmquist (1G 3A) and O'Neill (2G 2A) each finished the month with four points
Jake Sibell earned his second CCHA Goaltender of the Week (27 saves on 28 shots faced in win over Michigan Tech)
Exhibition win against Minnesota Duluth (3-1)

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.
425 career wins (23^rd all-time / seventh among active head coaches, 29 wins behind Scott Sandelin for sixth)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The only four-game homestand of the season with CCHA series against Bowling Green (12-16-0, 10-8-0) Feb. 16-17 and Bemidji State (11-15-2, 9-7-2) Feb. 23-24
Final series of the season at Michigan Tech (12-13-6, 9-9-2) Mar. 1-2

NON-CONFERENCE

The Toms were 2-7-1 outside of the CCHA this season. They 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. They completed their non-con schedule with back-to-back defeats in Sioux Falls against the Augustana Vikings (4-2, 2-1 OT).
St. Thomas has a -12 goal differential in 10 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, 1-5-0 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)

THE CHASE IS ON
Chase Cheslock will be playing in his 11^th and 12^th games at the collegiate level after being called in from the USHL at the semester break. He notched his first collegiate point 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.

NHL DRAFT PICKS

Ryder Donovan was selected as the 110^th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154^th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils and is the Tommies first "homegrown" draft pick.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jake Braccini

Mack Byers

Chase Cheslock

Ryder Donovan

Ethan Gauer

Cooper Gay

Matthew Gleason

Luc Laylin

Liam Malmquist

Luke Manning

James Marooney

J.D. Metz

Ryan O'Neill

Quinton Pepper

Tim Piechowski

Noah Prokop

Jake Ratzlaff

Jake Sibell

Aaron Trotter

Lucas Wahlin

University of St. Thomas Athletics