University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 24
St. Paul, Minn. / Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
7:07 p.m. CST
2-3-1
2
vs
2
Providence
1-2-1
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
Providence
0
0
2
0
0
2
St. Thomas (MN)
1
1
0
0
0
2
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Tommies open Lee & Penny Anderson Arena with shootout win over #15 Providence
10/24/2025 11:58:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Nathan Pilling scored the first goal in the building and Aaron Trotter made 38 saves
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (2-3-1) played hockey on campus at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in front of over 4,000 fans on Friday night and took the 15th ranked Providence Friars (1-2-1) to a shootout. Aaron Trotter made 38 saves in net while Nathan Pilling scored the first goal in the building for the Tommies.
Period Summary
First Period
-Both sides earned a pair of power plays in the opening period and both sides came up empty while with the man advantage.
-The Tommies struck first while shorthanded when Nathan Pilling received a fortunate bounce off a Chase Cheslock clear that turned into an uncontested rush to the netminder. The freshman potted his third of the season at 17:33 and etched himself into the history books as the first Tommie men's hockey player to score at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
-The game was played evenly, with 10 shots on goal for the Toms and nine for the Friars.
Second Period
-Jake Braccini got called for hooking at 2:27 in the first to put the Toms right back where they wanted to be, on the penalty kill.
-That is because Lucas Van Vliet scored another shorthanded goal at 4:18 from Nick Williams. It was Van Vliet's first career goal and doubled the Tommies' lead in front of the raucous home crowd.
-Providence could not convert on any of their chances with 14 shots on goal to the Tommies' seven.
-Neither team converted on their power play opportunities in the second, the Friars came up empty twice, and the Tommies, three times.
Third Period
-The Friars finally broke through on their 26th shot at 3:40 to halve the Tommie lead. They struck again at 12:46 to tie the game.
-St. Thomas did not record another shot on goal in regulation and counted on Aaron Trotter to make six saves in the final seven minutes to force overtime.
Overtime
-Providence got four shots on Trotter in the five-minute extra frame and hit one pipe at 2:16.
-St. Thomas got just one shot on goal but had a few fantastic scoring chances while at 3-on-3.
-The game concluded with a tie and a non-conference shootout commenced.
Shootout
-Lucas Van Vliet scored on his attempt and Lucas Wahlin scored to secure the shootout victory.
-Aaron Trotter made a save and got some help from the goal pipes to cap off a vintage performance.
Quick Hits
-Providence outshot the Tommies 40-26 and won 41 faceoffs at a 63.1% clip.
-St. Thomas also blocked 14 shots, led by Lucas Wahlin and Hayes Hundley who each got in front of three pucks.
-The Friars committed eight penalties for 16 minutes and the Tommies were whistled for five penalties at 10 minutes.
-Lucas Van Vliet's goal was the first of his collegiate career, he is the leader in the clubhouse among Tommie freshmen with five points.
-This is the first time in program history that the Tommies scored more than one shorthanded goal in the same game. They led the NCAA with nine SHG last season.
Up Next
The Tommies look for their first ranked home win against a non-conference opponent in program history tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m.
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
-Both sides earned a pair of power plays in the opening period and both sides came up empty while with the man advantage.
-The Tommies struck first while shorthanded when Nathan Pilling received a fortunate bounce off a Chase Cheslock clear that turned into an uncontested rush to the netminder. The freshman potted his third of the season at 17:33 and etched himself into the history books as the first Tommie men's hockey player to score at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
-The game was played evenly, with 10 shots on goal for the Toms and nine for the Friars.
Second Period
-Jake Braccini got called for hooking at 2:27 in the first to put the Toms right back where they wanted to be, on the penalty kill.
-That is because Lucas Van Vliet scored another shorthanded goal at 4:18 from Nick Williams. It was Van Vliet's first career goal and doubled the Tommies' lead in front of the raucous home crowd.
-Providence could not convert on any of their chances with 14 shots on goal to the Tommies' seven.
-Neither team converted on their power play opportunities in the second, the Friars came up empty twice, and the Tommies, three times.
Third Period
-The Friars finally broke through on their 26th shot at 3:40 to halve the Tommie lead. They struck again at 12:46 to tie the game.
-St. Thomas did not record another shot on goal in regulation and counted on Aaron Trotter to make six saves in the final seven minutes to force overtime.
Overtime
-Providence got four shots on Trotter in the five-minute extra frame and hit one pipe at 2:16.
-St. Thomas got just one shot on goal but had a few fantastic scoring chances while at 3-on-3.
-The game concluded with a tie and a non-conference shootout commenced.
Shootout
-Lucas Van Vliet scored on his attempt and Lucas Wahlin scored to secure the shootout victory.
-Aaron Trotter made a save and got some help from the goal pipes to cap off a vintage performance.
Quick Hits
-Providence outshot the Tommies 40-26 and won 41 faceoffs at a 63.1% clip.
-St. Thomas also blocked 14 shots, led by Lucas Wahlin and Hayes Hundley who each got in front of three pucks.
-The Friars committed eight penalties for 16 minutes and the Tommies were whistled for five penalties at 10 minutes.
-Lucas Van Vliet's goal was the first of his collegiate career, he is the leader in the clubhouse among Tommie freshmen with five points.
-This is the first time in program history that the Tommies scored more than one shorthanded goal in the same game. They led the NCAA with nine SHG last season.
Up Next
The Tommies look for their first ranked home win against a non-conference opponent in program history tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m.
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
PRO
UST
Shots
40
26
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
2
Penalties
8
5
Penalty Mins
16
10
Faceoffs Won
41
24
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
7
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyD
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