University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 10
Grand Forks, N.D. / Ralph Engelstad Arena
7:07 p.m. CST
1-1-0
2
at
6
North Dakota
1-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas (MN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
Men’s Hockey falls to North Dakota
10/10/2025 10:06:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Fighting Hawks jumped on the Tommies early, held onto their lead
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (1-1-0) fell behind in the first period on the road at North Dakota (1-0-0) and never recovered the score despite a pair of very strong periods to conclude its first matchup with the Fighting Hawks. Lucas Wahlin and Alex Gaffney each scored in the Toms' 6-2 defeat at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Period Summary
First Period
-North Dakota opened up a commanding shots-on-goal advantage before potting their first goal of the period at 8:22.
-The Tommies survived a brief penalty kill before coming up empty on an abbreviated power play midway through the period.
-The Fighting Hawks doubled their lead at 18:01 before out shooting the Toms 15-6 during the first 20.
Second Period
-The hosting Hawks scored goals three, four, and five at 1:08, 4:05, and 18:11.
-Aaron Trotter relieved Carsen Musser in goal for the Tommies at 4:05 after the sophomore allowed four goals on 17 shots.
-Lucas Wahlin scored his second goal of the season at 19:14 to end the shutout bid for North Dakota. His line mate, Lucas Van Vliet forced a blue line turnover with a poke check to lead the senior on a solo rush to the goal front. It was Van Vliet's first career point and Wahlin's 94th.
Third Period
-After controlling much of the start of the final period, Alex Gaffney scored his first Tommie goal on the power play at 7:54 from Nathan Pilling and Nick Williams.
-North Dakota got one more blow past Trotter at 19:53 to lock up the 6-2 victory.
Quick Hits
-North Dakota outshot St. Thomas 31-25.
-The Tommies outshot the Fighting Hawks 19-16 in the final two frames.
-North Dakota pulled away with a slight margin on the faceoff dot, 29-26.
-The Toms took four penalties for eight minutes and the Fighting Hawks took five for 10 minutes.
-St. Thomas was 1-5 on the power play and 2-4 on the penalty kill.
-Mason Poolman led the Tommies with two penalties and four penalty minutes.
-Nathan Pilling led the way with eight shots on goal, three more than any player in the game.
-Carsen Musser made 13 saves and allowed four, Aaron Trotter made 12 saves and allowed two.
-Pilling (8 of 14) and Luc Laylin (5 of 8) each won more faceoffs than they lost.
Tommie Tidbits
- Lucas Wahlin's goal stretched his point streak up to 11 games dating back to last season. He has scored nine goals and added eight assists during that span.
-The Tommies were 3-8-2 in 2024-25 when allowing the first goal.
-This is the first time the Toms have allowed six goals in a game since January 10th of this year. The Toms won that game, 9-6 over Ferris State.
Up Next
Tommie Men's Hockey and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks go to battle again on Sunday, October 12th at 5:07 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena in downtown St. Paul. Tickets are still available and can be purchased HERE.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the University of St. Thomas Men's Hockey team, follow along on Instagram and Twitter at @TommieMHockey. Follow the fun @tommiesports on TikTok.
Period Summary
First Period
-North Dakota opened up a commanding shots-on-goal advantage before potting their first goal of the period at 8:22.
-The Tommies survived a brief penalty kill before coming up empty on an abbreviated power play midway through the period.
-The Fighting Hawks doubled their lead at 18:01 before out shooting the Toms 15-6 during the first 20.
Second Period
-The hosting Hawks scored goals three, four, and five at 1:08, 4:05, and 18:11.
-Aaron Trotter relieved Carsen Musser in goal for the Tommies at 4:05 after the sophomore allowed four goals on 17 shots.
-Lucas Wahlin scored his second goal of the season at 19:14 to end the shutout bid for North Dakota. His line mate, Lucas Van Vliet forced a blue line turnover with a poke check to lead the senior on a solo rush to the goal front. It was Van Vliet's first career point and Wahlin's 94th.
Third Period
-After controlling much of the start of the final period, Alex Gaffney scored his first Tommie goal on the power play at 7:54 from Nathan Pilling and Nick Williams.
-North Dakota got one more blow past Trotter at 19:53 to lock up the 6-2 victory.
Quick Hits
-North Dakota outshot St. Thomas 31-25.
-The Tommies outshot the Fighting Hawks 19-16 in the final two frames.
-North Dakota pulled away with a slight margin on the faceoff dot, 29-26.
-The Toms took four penalties for eight minutes and the Fighting Hawks took five for 10 minutes.
-St. Thomas was 1-5 on the power play and 2-4 on the penalty kill.
-Mason Poolman led the Tommies with two penalties and four penalty minutes.
-Nathan Pilling led the way with eight shots on goal, three more than any player in the game.
-Carsen Musser made 13 saves and allowed four, Aaron Trotter made 12 saves and allowed two.
-Pilling (8 of 14) and Luc Laylin (5 of 8) each won more faceoffs than they lost.
Tommie Tidbits
- Lucas Wahlin's goal stretched his point streak up to 11 games dating back to last season. He has scored nine goals and added eight assists during that span.
-The Tommies were 3-8-2 in 2024-25 when allowing the first goal.
-This is the first time the Toms have allowed six goals in a game since January 10th of this year. The Toms won that game, 9-6 over Ferris State.
Up Next
Tommie Men's Hockey and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks go to battle again on Sunday, October 12th at 5:07 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena in downtown St. Paul. Tickets are still available and can be purchased HERE.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the University of St. Thomas Men's Hockey team, follow along on Instagram and Twitter at @TommieMHockey. Follow the fun @tommiesports on TikTok.
Team Stats
UST
UND
Shots
25
31
PPG
1
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
5
Penalty Mins
8
10
Faceoffs Won
26
29
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
8
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
D
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