University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Mendota Heights, Minn.
6:07 p.m. Central
15-19-2
4
vs
2
Lake Superior State
16-19-1
1
2
3
F
Lake Superior St.
0
1
1
2
St. Thomas (MN)
2
2
0
4
Team Stats
LSS
UST
Shots
31
35
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
11
8
Penalty Mins
25
16
Faceoffs Won
24
30
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
6
A
2
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Men’s Hockey lives to fight another day
3/9/2024 10:59:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The Tommies took the lead in the sixth minute and never looked back, downing the Lakers 4-2 to stay alive in the Mason Cup Playoffs.
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn.. – Liam Malmquist gave the St. Thomas Men's Hockey team (15-19-2) the jolt it needed to stay alive in the Mason Cup Playoffs with a first period goal that propelled the Tommies to a 4-2 win over Lake Superior State (16-19-1).
GAME RECAP
The Tommies flipped the script from game one quickly in the win-or-go-home game two matchup with the Lakers. They matched their game-one goal total in just under six minutes, and added on around five minutes later.
At 5:46 of the first period, Matthew Gleason started the Tommies toward the offensive zone with a perfectly placed stretch pass to his linemate Lucas Wahlin. The sophomore captain found a streaking Liam Malmquist and darted a pass through the high slot to the Edina, Minn. native. Malmquist sent home his 10th goal of the season to electrify his team. Gleason's secondary assist was the 50th point of his collegiate career.
Head coach Rico Blasi's top line was not done scoring and did not wait long to strike once more. Malmquist fed freshman Mason Poolman on the blue line. The defenseman rifled a shot off the right pad of LSSU goaltender Ethan Langenegger. Lucas Wahlin found the orphaned puck just outside of the crease and tickled the twine to double the Toms' lead. The tally was an historic one for Wahlin, he became the first Tommie to 50 career points in Purple.
The milestones kept on coming for a Tommie team with its back against the wall. Just three minutes into the second period, Jase Sofo took advantage of a Lake State turnover and deposited the puck into the back of the net for the first time. The natural defenseman has been playing as the Toms' fourth line right-winger for a majority of the season's second half.
The Lakers tallied one of their two goals at 12:18 of the second period but the Tommies utilized a power play and restored their three-goal lead less than three minutes later. Luc Laylin hit Noah Prokop with a pass while the grad transfer was stationed below the goal line. Prokop fed a pass through multiple legs and sticks to Wahlin in the slot. The sophomore's shot ricocheted off Langenegger's pad in a dangerous area and Prokop was perfectly placed to score the first power play goal of his Tommie career.
St. Thomas did not score another goal in the game but held off the Lakers despite multiple power play and extra attacker opportunities down the stretch. LSSU did score at 13:02 while at even strength.
Aaron Trotter made 29 saves on the 31 shots he faced for the Tommies. Wahlin's three-point performance pushed him over the 30-point mark, the first Tommie to do so in program history.
St. Thomas outshot the Lakers 35-31 and won 30 of the game's 54 faceoffs. The Toms were 1-5 on the power play and 3-3 on the penalty kill. The final period of play produced 11 penalties and 25 penalty minutes.
UP NEXT
Puck drop for game three at Saint Thomas Ice Arena is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. and tickets can still be purchased HERE.
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Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
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Rico Blasi Press Conference October 3rd
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