University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, October 4
St. Cloud, Minn. / Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
6:07 p.m. CST
4
at
3
St. Cloud State
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Men’s Hockey holds off St. Cloud State
10/4/2025 10:05:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Tommies survive three goal third period, take the season opener 4-3
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – It would not be a Tommie-Husky hockey game without some drama. St. Thomas Men's Hockey (1-0-0) grew a 3-0 lead before allowing a trio of unanswered St. Cloud State (0-1-0) goals in the third period on Saturday night at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The Toms took the game, 4-3 in the fifth straight one-goal game between the two programs.
Period Summary
First Period
-Colton Jamieson took the first penalty of the season at 8:41, the Tommies killed the penalty with one save from Carsen Musser.
-Charlie Schoen scored the first goal of the season in his Tommie debut at 12:42. The tally was unassisted; the Arizona State transfer capitalized on an errant pass by SCSU and bested the goaltender on a solo rush.
Second Period
-Lucas Wahlin scored at 2:50 from newcomers Nick Williams and Alex Gaffney. Gaffney played the puck below the goal line and fed Wahlin in the slot.
-Jake Braccini scored the Toms' third straight at 11:50 from Casy Laylin and Chase Cheslock. Laylin sauced a pass over a defender's stick on an odd-man rush to Braccini who worked a double move to score.
Third Period
-The Huskies scored just over one minute into the third period, short-handed, 36 seconds into the Tommies' first complete power play.
-They jumped on the Tommies again at 5:32 on the power play after Chase Cheslock took a cross-checking minor.
-The comeback was completed at 12:50, 3-3 all…drama.
-While skating off the puck, St. Cloud's Daimon Gardner, gave the Tommies' Caige Sterzer a high chicken wing and landed himself a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head at 14:03.
-Nathan Pilling saved the day with his first career goal at 15:05 from Cheslock and Gaffney. Pilling took a pinpoint pass from Cheslock while in front of the crease and patiently waited before he delivered the final blow.
Quick Hits
-St. Cloud State outshot St. Thomas 30-29.
-They also won 41 of the 71 faceoffs (.577).
-Both teams took five penalties, the Huskies led in minutes, 21-10.
-The Tommies were 1-4 on the power play and the Huskies were 1-3. There were no power play goals in the series between the two sides last season.
-Pilling led the Tommies with two penalties and four penalty minutes, he also led with five shots.
-Carsen Musser made 27 saves in his Tommie debut to secure the win.
-Not one Tommie won more face-offs than they lost, Braccini and Pilling each went 8-8.
Tommie Tidbits
-This is the fifth consecutive one-goal game between the Tommies and Huskies dating back to the beginning of the 2023-24 season. (5-4 OT, 1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 4-3)
-Charlie Schoen and Nathan Pilling were the first Tommies to score in their Tommie debuts since Ryder Donovan in 2023 against St. Cloud State.
-Carsen Musser is the first Tommie goalie in program history to win in his debut.
Up Next
The Tommies matchup with the North Dakota for the first time in program history on Friday, October 10th in Grand Forks and Sunday, October 12th at Grand Casino Arena.
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
-Colton Jamieson took the first penalty of the season at 8:41, the Tommies killed the penalty with one save from Carsen Musser.
-Charlie Schoen scored the first goal of the season in his Tommie debut at 12:42. The tally was unassisted; the Arizona State transfer capitalized on an errant pass by SCSU and bested the goaltender on a solo rush.
Second Period
-Lucas Wahlin scored at 2:50 from newcomers Nick Williams and Alex Gaffney. Gaffney played the puck below the goal line and fed Wahlin in the slot.
-Jake Braccini scored the Toms' third straight at 11:50 from Casy Laylin and Chase Cheslock. Laylin sauced a pass over a defender's stick on an odd-man rush to Braccini who worked a double move to score.
Third Period
-The Huskies scored just over one minute into the third period, short-handed, 36 seconds into the Tommies' first complete power play.
-They jumped on the Tommies again at 5:32 on the power play after Chase Cheslock took a cross-checking minor.
-The comeback was completed at 12:50, 3-3 all…drama.
-While skating off the puck, St. Cloud's Daimon Gardner, gave the Tommies' Caige Sterzer a high chicken wing and landed himself a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head at 14:03.
-Nathan Pilling saved the day with his first career goal at 15:05 from Cheslock and Gaffney. Pilling took a pinpoint pass from Cheslock while in front of the crease and patiently waited before he delivered the final blow.
Quick Hits
-St. Cloud State outshot St. Thomas 30-29.
-They also won 41 of the 71 faceoffs (.577).
-Both teams took five penalties, the Huskies led in minutes, 21-10.
-The Tommies were 1-4 on the power play and the Huskies were 1-3. There were no power play goals in the series between the two sides last season.
-Pilling led the Tommies with two penalties and four penalty minutes, he also led with five shots.
-Carsen Musser made 27 saves in his Tommie debut to secure the win.
-Not one Tommie won more face-offs than they lost, Braccini and Pilling each went 8-8.
Tommie Tidbits
-This is the fifth consecutive one-goal game between the Tommies and Huskies dating back to the beginning of the 2023-24 season. (5-4 OT, 1-0, 1-0, 2-1, 4-3)
-Charlie Schoen and Nathan Pilling were the first Tommies to score in their Tommie debuts since Ryder Donovan in 2023 against St. Cloud State.
-Carsen Musser is the first Tommie goalie in program history to win in his debut.
Up Next
The Tommies matchup with the North Dakota for the first time in program history on Friday, October 10th in Grand Forks and Sunday, October 12th at Grand Casino Arena.
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.
Players Mentioned
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