University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, January 3
Maryland Heights, Mo. / Centene Community Ice Center
7:30 p.m. Central
at
Lindenwood
Men’s Hockey wraps non-conference schedule with Lindenwood
1/2/2025 1:07:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Both teams come into the weekend with four wins this season
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
ON THE RADIO
CCHA TV ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
NICE TO SEE YOU, OLD FRIEND
Caige Sterzer will play against his former team for the first time in his career. The 6-5 power forward played for the Lions back when they were in the ACHA and then for two seasons at the NCAA DI level where he compiled 14 goals, 19 assists, and 33 points in 54 games. Two of those assists came against the Tommies.
The Toms' roster is made up of 10 transfers but a majority will not play their former team this season. Ethan Gauer (Bemidji State) and Grant Docter (Michigan Tech) have had the opportunity to match up with their former teams this season. Gauer has played 13 games with 4 points against the Beavers since joining the Tommies. Docter has played 7 games with 3 points against the Huskies.
RAZOR-THIN MARGINS
The Tommies have played five one-goal games this season and they have lost all five. They have also played into overtime four times and have tied all four. Overall, that is nine games decided by no more than one goal, and a record of 0-5-4. Two of their three two-goal losses included an empty-net goal…0-7-4 record in games within a one goal reach.
Last season (the best in the program's history), the Toms were 5-7-2 in games decided by one goal. Two of their six two-goal losses included an empty net goal.
SERIES HISTORY
The Tommies hold the all-time edge over the Lindenwood Lions albeit just one series between the two new Division I programs. The Lions are the only team that the Tommies have an above .500 record against (.500 record against Ferris State and Northern Michigan). Both teams did battle last season at Saint Thomas Ice Arena, the Toms took game one 3-1 and tied 4-4 in game two. Former Lion and current Tommie, Caige Sterzer added two points in the latter. Luc Laylin had the game-winning goal during the second period of the first game. Cooper Gay (2G-1A) and Liam Malmquist (3A) each have three career points in two games against the Lions.
The Tommies have never played in St. Louis, Mo. and are currently 1-1-0 outside the state of Minnesota this season (10-32-0 all-time).
St. Thomas scored just once on the power play last season against Lindenwood (1-11, 9%). The Purple are a perfect 7-7 on the penalty kill. Ryan O'Neill has the only power play goal in the series.
DECEMBER RECAP
CCHA RANKINGS
NCAA RANKINGS
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST LINDENWOOD
GOING STREAKING
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
NOVEMBER RECAP
OCTOBER RECAP
COACH BLASI
NON-CONFERENCE
MALMQUIST'S TORRID START
Liam Malmquist is one of three players in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.06). He scored a career-high 27 points in 36 games last season (0.75 points per game). He scored 12 points during the month of November.
It took him just eight games to surpass the 10-point mark when he scored his 10th and 11th against Minnesota State on 11/8/24. He is the fastest Tommie to 10 points in program history.
2021-22: Christiano Versich – 17 games
2022-23: Lucas Wahlin – 15 games
2023-24: Lucas Wahlin – 10 games
2024-25: Liam Malmquist – 8 games
Lucas Wahlin will hold onto the title for fastest to the 20-point mark, he did so in just 16 games last season, Malmquist has played 17 already this year. Wahlin scored 30 points for the first time in program history last season, it took him 36 games.
CHASE FOLEY – NOVEMBER DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association released its monthly honors and named grad transfer Chase Foley CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the second Tommie defenseman to be honored this season.
Foley, a native of Mendota Heights, Minn. has helped propel the Tommie power play from worst in the CCHA and one of the worst in the country through the first six games to the best in the conference and 12th best in the nation at 25% (12-48). The blue liner contributed on eight power play goals with one goal of his own and seven assists during November. The Tommies' power play during that 10-game stretch jumped to 42.9% (12-28).
His nine points this season are the fourth most all-time for a Tommie defenseman. He has 19 games to tie Ethan Gauer's single-season program record 12 points. Foley has also climbed into the top 20 all-time scoring list for the Tommies' short Division I history.
The Colorado College transfer has a point in five of his last six games and added a point in seven of the Tommies' ten November games. He added his only multi-point game of the season against Minnesota State on 11/8 and scored his first goal in purple on 11/29 against Lake Superior State.
The award is Foley's first CCHA honor. He is the second Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month, Mason Poolman did it earlier this season for the month of October.
MASON POOLMAN – CCHA DEFENSMAN OF THE MONTH
Mason Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first Tommie to receive the honor in program history.
Poolman, a native of East Grand Forks, Minn.. scored two goals and added an assist in game one against the Vermont Catamounts and tallied the game-winning goal in game two against the nonconference foe. His second goal on Friday tied the game at five and pushed the affair to overtime.
He matched the Tommies' single-season program record for goals by a defenseman in just one weekend. The sophomore is now tied with Ethan Gauer (2022-23) and Trevor Zins (2021-22). He also surpassed his freshman season goal total of two.
After a week off for the Toms' early season bye, Poolman added an assist in St. Thomas' game-two loss against #5 Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center.
He is currently tied for the team-lead with five points and sits in the top 10 in the CCHA in points, goals, points per game, and goals per game. He also paced all conference defenseman in goals and points during October.
The award is Poolman's second CCHA honor of any sort in his 33-game collegiate career. He is the first Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month and the first defenseman to receive more than one in-season CCHA honor in program history.
AARON TROTTER – OFFENSE EXTRAORDINAIRE
Junior goaltender, Aaron Trotter added his fifth career point with an assist on Cooper Gay's empty-net goal at the end of the Toms' 3-1 win over Vermont. Trotter is still lacking that first career goalie goal as all five of his points have come from assists. He recorded two his freshman year, two his sophomore year, and one this year.
The goaltender is tied for 32nd all-time in scoring for the Tommies in their short 3+ year Division I history. Externally, Trotter is far-and-away the best offensive goalie in the country. His five career points are most among active NCAA Division I Men's Hockey.
As of the Saturday in which Trotter added his fifth point, there were just seven active goaltenders with two points and 25 goalies with at least one point. One of those 25 other goalies is Jake Sibell with one career point scored last season for St. Thomas. The Tommies were one of three programs in the country with two goaltenders to have recorded at least one point, Holy Cross and Penn State were the other two at the time of Trotter's fifth point.
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – LUCAS WAHLIN
Junior, Lucas Wahlin was the first Tommie to score 30 points in a season, the first Tommie to be named to an All-CCHA team, and now the first Tommie in Division I program history to be named CCHA Preseason Player of the Year.
He was one of three named by conference head coaches along with Isaac Gordon of Michigan Tech and Connor Milburn of Lake Superior State. Wahlin was the only Preseason Player of the Year selected by the media. He was also named to both Preseason All-CCHA Teams.
The junior captain set career marks in goals (12), assists (18), and points (30) while playing in all 37 games last season. He ranked t-11th in goals, t-7th in assists, t-7th in points, and 3rd in shots in the conference.
Wahlin, a native of Woodbury, Minn., is the program's leader in points (51) and is the only Tommie above the 50-point milestone during the DI era. He was also the program's first sophomore captain.
He earned Second-Team All-CCHA, CCHA All-Academic, and CCHA Scholar Athlete honors last season and was named conference player of the week on November 6 for his four points in a weekend series sweep of Northern Michigan.
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
NHL DRAFT PICKS
CAPTAINS
TRANSFERS
FRESHMEN
SIBELL NAMED ONE OF NATION'S TOP TENDERS
Jake Sibell was named to the semi-finalist list for the Mike Richter Award last season. Sibell was the first in program history and only last season from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) 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 was one of two goalies on the list from Minnesota (Ryan Bischel of Notre Dame from Medina, Minn.). He was also one of two from a team within the Land of 10,000 Lakes (Justen Close from the University of Minnesota).
Kyle McClellan of Wisconsin won the award for the 2023-24 season.
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish first in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll on September 12th. The former high-water mark in the preseason poll was a fifth-place finish last season. The Toms earned 73 votes in total and tied with Bemidji State in first place votes (3). The Beavers earned 69 votes, four behind St. Thomas. Michigan Tech (2) and Minnesota State (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (50), Lake Superior State (46), Augustana (46), Ferris State (28), and Northern Michigan (26) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish second in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll on September 12th. This is the highest the Tommies have ever finished in the preseason media poll. Bemidji State came out on top with 107 total votes and five first place votes. The Tommies came up with the same amout of total votes (107) but earned one less first place vote. Minnesota State (2) and Michigan Tech (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (63), Lake Superior State (60), Augustana (52), Northern Michigan (40), and Ferris State (33) rounded out the poll.
- Tommie Men's Hockey (4-10-4 overall, 3-6-3 CCHA) concludes its non-conference slate with a two-game road series against the Lindenwood Lions (4-13-1 overall) this Friday, January 3rd at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 4th at 4:30 p.m.
- The Lions snapped a three-game skid with a gutsy 3-2 win against Omaha in Nebraska. Joe Prouty, Jaeden Mercier, and John Evans were the goal scorers in the win. Lindenwood is just 1-4 in their last five. They are led on the offensive end by senior David Gagnon with seven goals and 13 points (he has just one point in his last six games). Sophomore, Owen Bartoszkiewicz has played 16 of their 18 games in net with a 4-12-0 record, 2.72 goals against average, and .917 save percentage. He put together a 20-save shutout of Stonehill on 11/22. Lindenwood's power play is 61st in the country (8.9%) and its penalty kill is 47th (76.9%).
- St. Thomas heads to St. Louis with just one win in its last seven games. Most recently coming off a 2-1 defeat to #12 St. Cloud State. Cooper Gay was the only goal scorer in the loss and leads the Tommies with eight goals this season. Liam Malmquist's 19 points are the most for the Purple, he is one of three CCHA players with at least a point-per-game of production. Aaron Trotter (3-6-1, 2.60 GAA, .908 SV%) and Jake Sibell (1-4-3, 2.86 GAA, .907 SV%) have been a tandem for the Tommies this season. Trotter has played in each of the Tommies' last three games with a 1.65 GAA and .942 SV% during that stretch. The power play has cooled off but remains one of the best in the country and the best in the CCHA (13th, 23.7%). The penalty kill is 29th in the nation (81.7%).
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.
CCHA TV ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
- All St. Thomas and CCHA games will be live-streamed on Midco Sports Plus
- Midco Sports Plus provides each subscriber with access to all content and events with the purchase of a monthly or yearly subscription.
- Midco Sports Plus is available on IOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.
NICE TO SEE YOU, OLD FRIEND
Caige Sterzer will play against his former team for the first time in his career. The 6-5 power forward played for the Lions back when they were in the ACHA and then for two seasons at the NCAA DI level where he compiled 14 goals, 19 assists, and 33 points in 54 games. Two of those assists came against the Tommies.
The Toms' roster is made up of 10 transfers but a majority will not play their former team this season. Ethan Gauer (Bemidji State) and Grant Docter (Michigan Tech) have had the opportunity to match up with their former teams this season. Gauer has played 13 games with 4 points against the Beavers since joining the Tommies. Docter has played 7 games with 3 points against the Huskies.
RAZOR-THIN MARGINS
The Tommies have played five one-goal games this season and they have lost all five. They have also played into overtime four times and have tied all four. Overall, that is nine games decided by no more than one goal, and a record of 0-5-4. Two of their three two-goal losses included an empty-net goal…0-7-4 record in games within a one goal reach.
Last season (the best in the program's history), the Toms were 5-7-2 in games decided by one goal. Two of their six two-goal losses included an empty net goal.
SERIES HISTORY
The Tommies hold the all-time edge over the Lindenwood Lions albeit just one series between the two new Division I programs. The Lions are the only team that the Tommies have an above .500 record against (.500 record against Ferris State and Northern Michigan). Both teams did battle last season at Saint Thomas Ice Arena, the Toms took game one 3-1 and tied 4-4 in game two. Former Lion and current Tommie, Caige Sterzer added two points in the latter. Luc Laylin had the game-winning goal during the second period of the first game. Cooper Gay (2G-1A) and Liam Malmquist (3A) each have three career points in two games against the Lions.
The Tommies have never played in St. Louis, Mo. and are currently 1-1-0 outside the state of Minnesota this season (10-32-0 all-time).
St. Thomas scored just once on the power play last season against Lindenwood (1-11, 9%). The Purple are a perfect 7-7 on the penalty kill. Ryan O'Neill has the only power play goal in the series.
DECEMBER RECAP
- 1-2-0 record, +1 goal differential
- Split series on the road against a strong Michigan Tech team. Outshot the Huskies 26-25 but could not find the equalizer after taking and giving up an early lead. St. Thomas was greatly outshot against Tech in game two 30-17 but rode a three-goal first period to an easy victory.
- Fell in second game of split series with #12 St, Cloud state in 5th one-goal loss of the season, 2-1.
- Mason Poolman, Cole Miller, Lucas Wahlin, Matthew Gleason, Liam Malmquist, Alexander Tell, and Chase Cheslock each led the Tommies with 2 points during December. Poolman, Miller, Wahlin, Gleason, Malmquist, and Cooper Gay each had one of the Toms' six goals.
- Aaron Trotter appeared in three games with an 0-2-0 record, 1.65 GAA, .942SV%, 4GA, 65SV in 145 minutes
- Jake Sibell made one start but was removed midway due to injury. He has a 1-0-0 record, 1.94GAA, .944SV%, 1GA, 17SV in 31 minutes.
- The Toms were 1-11 on the power play (9.1%) and 4-6 on the penalty kill (66.6%).
CCHA RANKINGS
- Cooper Gay T-2nd with 8 goals
- Lucas Wahlin, Matthew Gleason T-9th with 7 goals
- Liam Malmquist T-14th with 6 goals
- Liam Malmquist 2nd with 13 assists
- Chase Foley T-13th with 8 assists
- Ryan O'Neill T-19th with 7 assists
- Liam Malmquist T-2nd with 19 points
- Lucas Wahlin T-10th with 13 points
- Cooper Gay T-15th with 12 points
- Wahlin, Gay, Malmquist – 2nd, 3rd, 4th in shots
- Gleason 4th with .260 shot %
- Wahlin 1st with 15 penalties
- Gay T-2nd with 4 power play goals
- Gleason and Malmquist T-4th with 3 power play goals
- Liam Malmquist 2nd with 1.06 points per game
- Malmquist 1st with 2 shorthanded goals
NCAA RANKINGS
- Liam Malmquist T-30th with .72 assists per game
- Lucas Wahlin T-29th with 172 faceoff wins
- Matthew Gleason 31st with 171 faceoff wins
- Aaron Trotter 46th with 2.60 GAA
- Cooper Gay 23rd with .53 goals per game
- Malmquist T-34th with 1.06 points per game
- Gay T-11th with 4 power play goals
- Gleason and Malmquist T-26th with 3 power play goals
- Aaron Trotter 45th with .908 SV%
- Jake Sibell 47th with .907 SV%
- Malmquist T-3rd with 2 shorthanded goals
- Matthew Gleason T-15th with 1 shorthanded goal
- St. Thomas – 13th with .237 power play
- St. Thomas – 4th with 13.56 penalty minutes per game
- St. Thomas – T-3rd with 4 shorthanded goals
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST LINDENWOOD
- Cooper Gay – 2G-1A-3P
- Liam Malmquist – 0G-3A-3P
- Luc Laylin – 2G-0A-2P
- Lucas Wahlin – 1G-1A-2P
- Jake Braccini – 1G-1A-2P
- Ryan O'Neill – 1G-0A-1P
- Matthew Gleason – 0G-1A-1P
- Cole Miller – 0G-1A-1P
- Mason Poolman – 0G-1A-1P
- Aaron Trotter – 0-0-1, 21 saves, 4 GA, 3.69 GAA, .840 SV%
- Jake Sibell – 1-0-0, 15 saves, 1 GA, 1.00 GAA, .938 SV%
GOING STREAKING
- No Tommies currently on point streaks
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
- Mason Poolman Defenseman of the Week (10/13/24)
- Cooper Gay Forward of the Week (11/18/24)
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
- Mason Poolman Defenseman of the Month (10/30/24)
- Chase Foley Defenseman of the Month (12/3/24)
NOVEMBER RECAP
- 2-5-3 record, -1 goal differential
- Split series with Augustana, won game one 4-0 and lost game two 3-2
- Took one of the six possible points from Minnesota State with a 5-3 home loss and 1-1 tie (SOL) on the road
- Tied Bowling Green in game one, lost in the shootout, defeated the Falcons 6-3 in game two, their second largest margin of victory this season.
- Tied Bemidji State in game one 2-2, lost in the shootout, fell to the Beavers in regulation, 2-1 in game two.
- Fell in both games by two goals each against Lake State.
- Cooper Gay was named CCHA Forward of the Week for the first time in his career after his three-goal weekend against the Falcons.
- Chase Foley was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month for his eight power play points to lead the Tommie power play to its top spot in the conference (25%)
- Lucas Wahlin and Matthew Gleason each pace the Tommies with five goals in November, Liam Malmquist's 12 points led the team.
- Aaron Trotter made six starts in goal with a .900 SV% and 2.67 GAA.
- Jake Sibell saw action in four games with a .933 SV% and 1.94 GAA.
- The Toms were 12-31 on the power play (38.7%) and 37-44 on the penalty kill (84.1%).
OCTOBER RECAP
- 1-3-1 record, -9 goal differential
- Lost a 1-0 game to open the season against nationally ranked St. Cloud State
- Tied with Vermont 5-5 in game one at home and then took the season series with a 3-1 win over the Catamounts
- Mason Poolman's three goals in the series set a new high-water mark for his career and earned him his first CCHA Defenseman of the Week honor
- Lost both games to a tremendously talented Minnesota Golden Gophers squad, 7-1 and 6-2
- Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first in program history
- Cooper Gay and Mason Poolman led the way with three goals in October, Poolman and Liam Malmquist each led the way with five points over the five games. Casy Laylin played all five games and finished the month with a team-best +3 rating
- The Tommies were 0-17 on the power play and 17-21 (.810) on the penalty kill
COACH BLASI
- Entering fourth 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.
- 431 career wins (23rd all-time / seventh among active head coaches)
NON-CONFERENCE
- St. Thomas plays eight non-conference games this season. They opened with the #16 ranked St. Cloud State Huskies for their first ranked-on-ranked matchup in program history. Vermont made their first journey to Mendota Heights before the Toms headed across the river for a game on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Game two of the cross-town series returned to Xcel Energy Center on Saturday October 26, presented by Wings Credit Union. The Toms' dropped the second half of their split series with #12 St. Cloud and conclude their non-conference schedule with two games at Lindenwood this weekend.
- The Toms are 1-4-1 outside of the CCHA this season. They fell to the #16 St. Cloud State Huskies, 1-0, to open the season. St. Thomas tied Vermont 5-5 and beat them 3-1 to take the series. They fell in two games to #5 Minnesota, 7-1 and 6-2 and most recently lost another one-goal battle with #12 St. Cloud State.
- St. Thomas has a -10 goal differential in six non-con games.
- The Tommies have played four games against ranked non-conference opponents and they are 0-4-0.
- 1-1-1 home record, 0-2-0 away record, 0-1-0 neutral site record
MALMQUIST'S TORRID START
Liam Malmquist is one of three players in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.06). He scored a career-high 27 points in 36 games last season (0.75 points per game). He scored 12 points during the month of November.
It took him just eight games to surpass the 10-point mark when he scored his 10th and 11th against Minnesota State on 11/8/24. He is the fastest Tommie to 10 points in program history.
2021-22: Christiano Versich – 17 games
2022-23: Lucas Wahlin – 15 games
2023-24: Lucas Wahlin – 10 games
2024-25: Liam Malmquist – 8 games
Lucas Wahlin will hold onto the title for fastest to the 20-point mark, he did so in just 16 games last season, Malmquist has played 17 already this year. Wahlin scored 30 points for the first time in program history last season, it took him 36 games.
CHASE FOLEY – NOVEMBER DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association released its monthly honors and named grad transfer Chase Foley CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the second Tommie defenseman to be honored this season.
Foley, a native of Mendota Heights, Minn. has helped propel the Tommie power play from worst in the CCHA and one of the worst in the country through the first six games to the best in the conference and 12th best in the nation at 25% (12-48). The blue liner contributed on eight power play goals with one goal of his own and seven assists during November. The Tommies' power play during that 10-game stretch jumped to 42.9% (12-28).
His nine points this season are the fourth most all-time for a Tommie defenseman. He has 19 games to tie Ethan Gauer's single-season program record 12 points. Foley has also climbed into the top 20 all-time scoring list for the Tommies' short Division I history.
The Colorado College transfer has a point in five of his last six games and added a point in seven of the Tommies' ten November games. He added his only multi-point game of the season against Minnesota State on 11/8 and scored his first goal in purple on 11/29 against Lake Superior State.
The award is Foley's first CCHA honor. He is the second Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month, Mason Poolman did it earlier this season for the month of October.
MASON POOLMAN – CCHA DEFENSMAN OF THE MONTH
Mason Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first Tommie to receive the honor in program history.
Poolman, a native of East Grand Forks, Minn.. scored two goals and added an assist in game one against the Vermont Catamounts and tallied the game-winning goal in game two against the nonconference foe. His second goal on Friday tied the game at five and pushed the affair to overtime.
He matched the Tommies' single-season program record for goals by a defenseman in just one weekend. The sophomore is now tied with Ethan Gauer (2022-23) and Trevor Zins (2021-22). He also surpassed his freshman season goal total of two.
After a week off for the Toms' early season bye, Poolman added an assist in St. Thomas' game-two loss against #5 Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center.
He is currently tied for the team-lead with five points and sits in the top 10 in the CCHA in points, goals, points per game, and goals per game. He also paced all conference defenseman in goals and points during October.
The award is Poolman's second CCHA honor of any sort in his 33-game collegiate career. He is the first Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month and the first defenseman to receive more than one in-season CCHA honor in program history.
AARON TROTTER – OFFENSE EXTRAORDINAIRE
Junior goaltender, Aaron Trotter added his fifth career point with an assist on Cooper Gay's empty-net goal at the end of the Toms' 3-1 win over Vermont. Trotter is still lacking that first career goalie goal as all five of his points have come from assists. He recorded two his freshman year, two his sophomore year, and one this year.
The goaltender is tied for 32nd all-time in scoring for the Tommies in their short 3+ year Division I history. Externally, Trotter is far-and-away the best offensive goalie in the country. His five career points are most among active NCAA Division I Men's Hockey.
As of the Saturday in which Trotter added his fifth point, there were just seven active goaltenders with two points and 25 goalies with at least one point. One of those 25 other goalies is Jake Sibell with one career point scored last season for St. Thomas. The Tommies were one of three programs in the country with two goaltenders to have recorded at least one point, Holy Cross and Penn State were the other two at the time of Trotter's fifth point.
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – LUCAS WAHLIN
Junior, Lucas Wahlin was the first Tommie to score 30 points in a season, the first Tommie to be named to an All-CCHA team, and now the first Tommie in Division I program history to be named CCHA Preseason Player of the Year.
He was one of three named by conference head coaches along with Isaac Gordon of Michigan Tech and Connor Milburn of Lake Superior State. Wahlin was the only Preseason Player of the Year selected by the media. He was also named to both Preseason All-CCHA Teams.
The junior captain set career marks in goals (12), assists (18), and points (30) while playing in all 37 games last season. He ranked t-11th in goals, t-7th in assists, t-7th in points, and 3rd in shots in the conference.
Wahlin, a native of Woodbury, Minn., is the program's leader in points (51) and is the only Tommie above the 50-point milestone during the DI era. He was also the program's first sophomore captain.
He earned Second-Team All-CCHA, CCHA All-Academic, and CCHA Scholar Athlete honors last season and was named conference player of the week on November 6 for his four points in a weekend series sweep of Northern Michigan.
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
- Mack Byers (2022-24; 31), Lucas Wahlin (25), and Cooper Gay (24) round out the top three in DI goals scored
- Wahlin continued his hot stretch with his third goal in his last four games in the Tommies' game two win over Michigan Tech.
- Gay scored the Toms' only goal against St. Cloud State on December 29th in his first game back from injury
- Lucas Wahlin (64), Ryan O'Neill (55), and Mack Byers (2022-24; 47), make up the top three in DI points
- Wahlin scored a goal and added an assist in the Toms' 4-1 victory over the Huskies before the Christmas break.
- O'Neill assisted on two goals last weekend, he had five assists in his last five games.
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
- Chase Cheslock (New Jersey Devils)
- Ryder Donovan (Vegas Golden Knights)
- Cooper Gay (Colorado Avalanche)
- Lucas Wahlin (St. Louis Blues)
- Liam Malmquist (Los Angeles Kings)
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.
- Donovan played three games last season for the Purple but made an instant impact with the overtime game-winner against ranked St. Cloud State to open the season.
- Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils and is the Tommies first "homegrown" draft pick.
- Cheslock joined the Tommies mid-season and played 19 games with one goal and two assists. His first career goal came in the Toms' game-two playoff win over Lake Superior State.
CAPTAINS
- Junior, Lucas Wahlin, wears the "C" on his chest for coach Rico Blasi's squad for the second consecutive season. Wahlin, a Woodbury, Minn. native, finished with 30 points in 37 games last season. He became the first Tommie in program history to surpass the 50-point career milestone on March 9thagainst Lake Superior State. He played for three teams over three seasons in both the NAHL and USHL before finding a home on the corner of Cretin and Summit.
- Seniors Ethan Gauer and Matthew Gleason along with junior Cooper Gay don the "A" this season.
- Both Gauer and Gleason are one-time transfers, but Gauer has played in each season of the Tommies' four at the DI level. He has 25 career points and leads the program with 124 blocked shots in 103 career games in purple.
- Matthew Gleason transferred in from Colorado College last season and had a career year. He scored five goals and added 18 assists for 23 points. Gleason is originally from St. Paul and played high school hockey for Cretin Derham Hall.
- Cooper Gay was on track for a tremendous season before going down with an injury in the second half of the season. The Hanover, Minn. native scored 12 goals and added 10 assists for a total of 22 points in 29 games as a sophomore. Gay has scored the fifth most goals in program history (16) and is sixth in points (29).
TRANSFERS
- Graduate student, Chase Foley, a Mendota Heights, Minn. native and Colorado College transfer, played 104 games for the Tigers and scored three goals with 28 assists over his four-year career as a defenseman. He is coming off a career season with two goals and 14 assists.
- Graduate student, Ray Christy, a St. Paul, Minn. native and Colorado College transfer, played 105 games for the Tigers and scored five goals with nine assists over his four-year career as a defenseman. He is coming off a career season with two goals and five assists while wearing the "A".
- Junior, Caige Sterzer, a Kimberley, B.C., Canada native and Lindenwood transfer, played 54 games for the Lions and scored 14 goals with 19 assists over his two-year NCAA career as a forward. He is coming off a career season with eight goals and 14 assists, he was the Lions leading point scorer.
- Both Chase Foley and Ray Christy played their Minnesota High School hockey at Saint Thomas Ice Arena for the Saint Thomas Academy Cadets. Neither Christy nor Foley has played in Mendota Heights since 2017-18. Foley was the captain of that 2017-18 Cadets team.
FRESHMEN
- First-year, Casy Laylin, native of St. Michael, Minn. most recently played for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL for a season and a half. The forward skated in 69 games and added 15 goals and 29 assists for Salmon Arm.
- First-year forward, Nick Mikan, an Edina, Minn. native, most recently played for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL where he skated in 35 games with eight goals and five assists.
- First-year defenseman, Ethan Elias, a native of Maple Grove, Minn., most recently played for the Madison Capitols for two seasons where he skated in 105 games with 10 goals and 22 assists. He was the captain of the 2023-24 Capitols team.
- First-year forward, Alexander Tell, from Linkoping, Sweden, skated in 49 games for Linkoping HC 120 and added 11 goals and 14 assists while wearing an "A".
SIBELL NAMED ONE OF NATION'S TOP TENDERS
Jake Sibell was named to the semi-finalist list for the Mike Richter Award last season. Sibell was the first in program history and only last season from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) 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 was one of two goalies on the list from Minnesota (Ryan Bischel of Notre Dame from Medina, Minn.). He was also one of two from a team within the Land of 10,000 Lakes (Justen Close from the University of Minnesota).
Kyle McClellan of Wisconsin won the award for the 2023-24 season.
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish first in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll on September 12th. The former high-water mark in the preseason poll was a fifth-place finish last season. The Toms earned 73 votes in total and tied with Bemidji State in first place votes (3). The Beavers earned 69 votes, four behind St. Thomas. Michigan Tech (2) and Minnesota State (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (50), Lake Superior State (46), Augustana (46), Ferris State (28), and Northern Michigan (26) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish second in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll on September 12th. This is the highest the Tommies have ever finished in the preseason media poll. Bemidji State came out on top with 107 total votes and five first place votes. The Tommies came up with the same amout of total votes (107) but earned one less first place vote. Minnesota State (2) and Michigan Tech (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (63), Lake Superior State (60), Augustana (52), Northern Michigan (40), and Ferris State (33) rounded out the poll.
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/ Men's HockeyPress Conference: Rico Blasi January 27th 2025
Monday, January 27
St. Thomas Men's Hockey 2023-24 Intro Video
Friday, October 27
Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
Friday, October 21
Rico Blasi Press Conference October 3rd
Friday, October 21
