University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 1
Mankato, Minn. / Mayo Clinic HSEC
6:07 p.m. CST
3-5-1, 1-1-0
4
at
3
Minnesota State
4-2-2, 1-1-0
1
2
3
OT 1
F
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
2
1
4
Minnesota St.
0
1
2
0
3
Photo by: Billie Borschnack
Men’s Hockey takes OT thriller in Mankato
11/1/2025 9:59:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Nathan Pilling scored the game winner; O’Neill and Gaffney with two points
MANKATO, Minn. – There are 15 new faces on the 2025-26 St. Thomas Men's Hockey team (3-5-1, 1-1-0). Three of them scored in tonight's 4-3 win, three of them were on the ice for the game-winner, and one of them earned his first career win between the posts on Saturday against #18 Minnesota State (4-2-2, 1-1-0).
Period Summary
First Period
-In typical Tommie-Maverick fashion, the first period was dead even the entire way.
-Both sides placed nine shots on goal, both goaltenders made all nine stops, freshman Will Ingemann for the Tommies and senior, Alex Tracy for the Mavs.
-Both teams won eight faceoffs.
-Both teams had two penalties for two minutes.
-St. Thomas did kill off their penalty, Minnesota State's carried over into the second period.
Second Period
-That carry-over power play ended almost as soon as it began when Josh Giuliani took an interference penalty 14 seconds in.
-Ingemann made a trio of fantastic saves to keep Minnesota State scoreless on the power play. He and the defense held the Mankato special teams unit off the scoreboard (0-4) for the second game in a row.
-A Minnesota State defenseman tripped over while behind his net and Charlie Schoen snatched the puck away. The Arizona State transfer waited patiently before slashing a pass to Ohio State transfer, Dylan Godbout at 9:56 to give the Tommies the lead.
-The Toms killed off a pair of Maverick power plays and Ingemann stopped them cold through 39 minutes until they broke through to tie the game at 19:08.
-Minnesota State outshot the Tommies 15-5 in the frame.
Third Period
-The Mavs scored their second goal 31 seconds into the final period to take the lead.
-Two seconds after a Tommie power play ended, the top line of Gaffney, Wahlin, and O'Neill teamed up to go tic-tac-toe through the offensive zone and tie the game at 4:54. O'Neill scored the goal, his second of the season.
-Harvard transfer Alex Gaffney struck again at 9:57 to put the Tommies back on top. The grad transfer received the puck from Chase Cheslock and O'Neill in the neutral zone and fought his way to the goal mouth. While flying through the air, he scored his CCHA-leading sixth goal (and 13th point).
-Mankato tied the game two seconds after pulling their goalie, at 18:47 to force the conference contest into overtime.
Overtime
-Nathan Pilling won the opening faceoff and the Tommies controlled the puck the entire extra frame.
-The Purple patiently waited for their moment to strike and then found it at 2:07.
-Lucas Van Vliet won a board battle on the half-wall to create a 2-on-1 break. One freshman fed another freshman and Nathan Pilling scored his second game-winner of the season.
Quick Hits
-Will Ingemann made 27 saves in his first career win for the Tommies with 15 coming in the second period.
-This was the Tommies' fifth nationally ranked victory in program history.
-Ryan O'Neill and Alex Gaffney each recorded a goal and an assist.
-Gaffney leads the CCHA with 13 points and six goals.
-Nathan Pilling leads the conference with two game-winning goals.
-Luc Laylin won 10 of his 15 faceoffs.
Up Next
The Tommies have next weekend off before they play a pair of games against two opponents on November 11th and 15th. First, they matchup with the St. Cloud State Huskies at 7:07 p.m. at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena and then they hit the road for one game in Sioux Falls against Augustana at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets
Tickets for the Tommies' game against the Huskies 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
-In typical Tommie-Maverick fashion, the first period was dead even the entire way.
-Both sides placed nine shots on goal, both goaltenders made all nine stops, freshman Will Ingemann for the Tommies and senior, Alex Tracy for the Mavs.
-Both teams won eight faceoffs.
-Both teams had two penalties for two minutes.
-St. Thomas did kill off their penalty, Minnesota State's carried over into the second period.
Second Period
-That carry-over power play ended almost as soon as it began when Josh Giuliani took an interference penalty 14 seconds in.
-Ingemann made a trio of fantastic saves to keep Minnesota State scoreless on the power play. He and the defense held the Mankato special teams unit off the scoreboard (0-4) for the second game in a row.
-A Minnesota State defenseman tripped over while behind his net and Charlie Schoen snatched the puck away. The Arizona State transfer waited patiently before slashing a pass to Ohio State transfer, Dylan Godbout at 9:56 to give the Tommies the lead.
-The Toms killed off a pair of Maverick power plays and Ingemann stopped them cold through 39 minutes until they broke through to tie the game at 19:08.
-Minnesota State outshot the Tommies 15-5 in the frame.
Third Period
-The Mavs scored their second goal 31 seconds into the final period to take the lead.
-Two seconds after a Tommie power play ended, the top line of Gaffney, Wahlin, and O'Neill teamed up to go tic-tac-toe through the offensive zone and tie the game at 4:54. O'Neill scored the goal, his second of the season.
-Harvard transfer Alex Gaffney struck again at 9:57 to put the Tommies back on top. The grad transfer received the puck from Chase Cheslock and O'Neill in the neutral zone and fought his way to the goal mouth. While flying through the air, he scored his CCHA-leading sixth goal (and 13th point).
-Mankato tied the game two seconds after pulling their goalie, at 18:47 to force the conference contest into overtime.
Overtime
-Nathan Pilling won the opening faceoff and the Tommies controlled the puck the entire extra frame.
-The Purple patiently waited for their moment to strike and then found it at 2:07.
-Lucas Van Vliet won a board battle on the half-wall to create a 2-on-1 break. One freshman fed another freshman and Nathan Pilling scored his second game-winner of the season.
Quick Hits
-Will Ingemann made 27 saves in his first career win for the Tommies with 15 coming in the second period.
-This was the Tommies' fifth nationally ranked victory in program history.
-Ryan O'Neill and Alex Gaffney each recorded a goal and an assist.
-Gaffney leads the CCHA with 13 points and six goals.
-Nathan Pilling leads the conference with two game-winning goals.
-Luc Laylin won 10 of his 15 faceoffs.
Up Next
The Tommies have next weekend off before they play a pair of games against two opponents on November 11th and 15th. First, they matchup with the St. Cloud State Huskies at 7:07 p.m. at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena and then they hit the road for one game in Sioux Falls against Augustana at 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets
Tickets for the Tommies' game against the Huskies 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
MSU
Shots
28
30
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
6
Penalty Mins
8
12
Faceoffs Won
31
28
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
5
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
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