University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 15
Sioux Falls, S.D. / Midco Arena
6:07 p.m. CST
at
Augustana
Photo by: George Dannecker
It’s all conference play from here for Men’s Hockey
11/14/2025 11:28:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Tommies play their third CCHA contest of the season on the road against Augustana
St. Paul, Minn. – St. Thomas Men's Hockey (4-5-1 overall, 1-1-0 CCHA) finished its non-conference season with a 3-1 win over St. Cloud State on Tuesday and now head to Sioux Falls for a one-gamer against the Augustana Vikings (6-4-0, 3-3-0). The game is set for a 6:07 p.m. puck drop on Saturday night at Midco Arena.
The Tommies finished off their first season series sweep over St. Cloud and their first sweep of a home-and-home series in DI program history with their 3-1 comeback victory over the Huskies. Will Ingemann got the start in goal and made a career-high 31 saves (including saves on each of the final 27 shots faced) to secure his second win in a row. Attila Lippai scored the first goal of his career, Alex Gaffney added his team-leading seventh goal, and after Lucas Wahlin assisted on both of those goals, tallied one of his own to finish off a three-point night. The senior captain became the first Tommie in DI program history to eclipse the 100-point mark for his career.
Augustana returns to the friendly confines of Midco Arena, where they are unbeaten this season (4-0-0), after a series split with the Ferris State Bulldogs in Big Rapids. The Vikings came away with the win in game one 4-2 but followed up that effort with their second scoreless game of the season. Ferris State put just 20 shots on net, but got two pucks by Viking netminder, Josh Kotai. Martin Lundberg shutout the Vikings on 24 shots faced. Auggie has had a turbulent start to 2025-26 with split against the talented Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to start the season and then a sweep of nationally ranked Arizona State. The Vikings then dropped both games to Bemidji State to open conference play and swept Northern Michigan in a pair of tight matchups.
SATURDAY'S GAME
-The Tommies and Vikings go to work on Saturday, November 15th at 6:07 p.m.
-St. Thomas is 1-3-0 all-time against Augustana and 0-2-0 at Midco Arena.
-The Purple are in search of their first regulation conference win. (They have played the fewest conference games in the CCHA).
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 home games 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.
450 FOR BLASI
-Head coach, Rico Blasi, won his 450th game on Tuesday against St. Cloud State. The now 25-year head coach currently sits 22nd all-time and fourth among active head coaches. He is 13 wins away from Murray Armstrong in 21st place, 18 from Joe Marsh in 20th, and 22 from Don Vaughan in 19th.
100 FOR WAHLIN
-Lucas Wahlin became the first Tommie to score 100 career points after his three-point burst against the Huskies on Tuesday. The Tommie captain did so in 109 games at a 0.92 points per game pace.
-25 different players either assisted on a Wahlin goal or scored a goal off a Wahlin assist over the course of the last four seasons.
-Liam Malmquist led each category with 12 assists on Wahlin goals and 15 goals off Wahlin assists.
WILL THE WALL
-Will Ingemann has been on fire in November with a 2-0-0 record behind a 1.97 goals against average and .935 save percentage.
-He leads all three Tommie netminders this season with two wins and a 2.21 GAA in four appearances.
HOT AND COLD
-The Tommie power play is scoreless in their last five games, and 0-6 during their two games in November.
-The Tommie penalty kill has not allowed a power play goal in three games and has only allowed one opponent to score on the power play in the last seven games. Their penalty kill is a perfect 7-7 in November.
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST AUGUSTANA
-Ryan O'Neill – 1G-1A-2P
-Lucas Wahlin – 1G-0A-1P
-Casy Laylin – 1G-0A-1P
-Carson Peters – 0G–1A–1P
-Quinton Pepper – 0G-1A-1P
-Cole Miller – 0G-1A-1P
-Chase Cheslock – 0G-1A-1P
-Aaron Trotter – 1-2-0, 69 saves, 5 GA, 1.66 GAA, .932SV%
WHY PLAY WITH FIVE?
-The Tommies led the country in shorthanded goals last season (9) and are right back at it this season with the second most in the entire nation (4).
-Nathan Pilling is one of six players in the country with two shorthanded goals. Pilling is the fourth Tommie to score multiple SHG in a season (Malmquist 4, 24-25; Byers 2, 23-24; Wahlin 2, 24-25).
-Lucas Van Vliet and Alex Gaffney account for the other two SHG by the Toms this season.
-St. Thomas scored a pair of SHG against Providence for the first time in program history. Pilling's first goal at LPA was a shorty.
GOING STREAKING
-Lucas Wahlin (4 points), Alex Gaffney (3 points), and Charlie Schoen (2 points) have each tallied a point in the last two Tommie wins.
SPARKLING IN ST. PAUL
-It has been a dream start for Alex Gaffney after transferring in from Harvard for his final season of college hockey.
-Gaffney has added 15 points in 10 games and leads the CCHA with 1.50 points per game.
-He led the Tommies with five goals and 11 points during October and currently leads the Purple with two goals and four points in November.
-He was the fastest Tommie to 10+ points in program history just one season after Liam Malmquist scored 10 points in eight games.
-The West Orange, N.J. native currently sits fourth in the country with 15P at 1.50 points per game.
MILESTONE WATCH
-Career Games Played
2025-26 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
-Alex Gaffney Forward of the Week (10/20/25)
-Chase Cheslock Defenseman of the Week (10/6/25)
2025-26 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
-Alex Gaffney Forward of the Month (11/3/25)
NOVEMBER RECAP
-2-0-0, +3 goal differential
-Finished off their season series with St. Cloud State on Tuesday to sweep the Huskies, 4-3 and 3-1.
-Took down the 18th ranked Mavericks, 4-3 in overtime on the road. Nathan Pilling notched his second game winner of the season.
-Alex Gaffney leads the Tommies with two goals and four points.
-Will Ingemann is 2-0-0 with a 1.97 GAA and .935 SV%.
-The Toms are 0-9 (0%) on the power play and 7-7 (100%) on the penalty kill.
OCTOBER RECAP
-2-5-1, -7 goal differential
-Won the first game of the season over St. Cloud State on the road, Nathan Pilling scored the game winning goal.
-Dropped a pair to North Dakota, 6-2 and 5-2.
-Split the road series with Air Force, with an 11-2 win in game one and a 6-2 loss in game two.
-Tied on night one at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena and then won the shootout against #15 Providence before dropping game two 7-4.
-Lost to open CCHA play against Mankato, 3-1 at home.
-Alex Gaffney led the Tommies with 11 points (5G-6A) in October.
-Carsen Musser was 1-4-0 with a 5.25 GAA and .831 SV%.
-Aaron Trotter was 1-0-1 with a 2.24 GAA and .929 SV% .
-Will Ingemann was 0-1-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .875 SV%.
-The Toms are 6-31 (19.4%) on the power play and 20-27 (74%) on the penalty kill.
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
-Lucas Wahlin (40), Cooper Gay (35, 2022-25), and Mack Byers (31, 2022-24) round out the top three in DI goals scored.
-Lucas Wahlin (100), Liam Malmquist (72, 2023-25), and Ryan O'Neill (72) make up the top three in career points.
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
-Bauer Berry (Edmonton Oilers)
-Chase Cheslock (New Jersey Devils)
-Carsen Musser (Utah Mammoth)
-Nathan Pilling (Ottawa Senators)
-Lucas Van Vliet (Vegas Golden Knights)
-Lucas Wahlin (Colorado Avalanche)
NHL DRAFT PICKS
-Bauer Berry was selected as the 218th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
-Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154th overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils and was the first drafted Tommie to commit to the program out of high school.
-Carsen Musser was selected as the 166th overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft by the Utah Mammoth.
-Lucas Van Vliet was selected as the 197th overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
IN GOOD COMPANY
-Lucas Wahlin entered the season third in career points in the NCAA among active players. His 92 (now 97) put him above all members of the CCHA and behind only Jeremy Wilmer of Quinnipiac (109) and T.J. Hughes of Michigan (122).
-Wahlin's 35 (now 38) career goals were ninth-most among active players.
-His 57 assists were fourth.
-Aaron Trotter's 78 career games in goal were fifth most in the country.
-Trotter's 26 career wins were tied for 10th.
PRESEASON PUB
-The Tommies were picked to finish in first place in the CCHA coaches' poll for the second consecutive season earlier in September.
-They were also selected second in the media poll for the second year in a row.
-Lucas Wahlin was once again named Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches after his 17-24—41 point season last year. The now senior was selected as team captain for the third-year running last week.
-Newcomer, Nathan Pilling, was named Preseason Rookie of the Year by the conference coaches. He skated in 218 total games across four seasons in the WHL for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Seattle Thunderbirds… scored 70 career goals, added 56 career assists, and tallied 126 total points in the WHL… coming off a career-best season as assistant captain with the Thunderbirds with 37 goals, 30 assists, and 67 points in 67 games in 2024-25.
COACH BLASI
-Entering fifth season for St. Thomas
-During his 20-year tenure at Miami, 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 Alex Martinez, Jeff Zatkoff, Blake Coleman, and Riley Smith.
-His 450-405-87 record has him 22nd all-time and 4th among active head coaches. He is 13 wins from Murray Armstrong in 21st place and 29 wins from the next closest active coach, Scott Sandelin in 18th place with 479.
NICE TO MEET YA
St. Thomas returned just 13 players from its breakthrough 2024-25 squad. The Tommies welcome in 15 newcomers into the fold, 10 freshman and five transfers.
-Freshmen
GOING GREY
-The Tommies are tied for the eighth most seniors in the country with eight.
-Between those eight seniors (Lucas Wahlin, Caige Sterzer, Ryan O'Neill, Quinton Pepper, Luc Laylin, Jake Braccini, Carson Peters, Aaron Trotter) they had amassed:
The Tommies finished off their first season series sweep over St. Cloud and their first sweep of a home-and-home series in DI program history with their 3-1 comeback victory over the Huskies. Will Ingemann got the start in goal and made a career-high 31 saves (including saves on each of the final 27 shots faced) to secure his second win in a row. Attila Lippai scored the first goal of his career, Alex Gaffney added his team-leading seventh goal, and after Lucas Wahlin assisted on both of those goals, tallied one of his own to finish off a three-point night. The senior captain became the first Tommie in DI program history to eclipse the 100-point mark for his career.
Augustana returns to the friendly confines of Midco Arena, where they are unbeaten this season (4-0-0), after a series split with the Ferris State Bulldogs in Big Rapids. The Vikings came away with the win in game one 4-2 but followed up that effort with their second scoreless game of the season. Ferris State put just 20 shots on net, but got two pucks by Viking netminder, Josh Kotai. Martin Lundberg shutout the Vikings on 24 shots faced. Auggie has had a turbulent start to 2025-26 with split against the talented Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to start the season and then a sweep of nationally ranked Arizona State. The Vikings then dropped both games to Bemidji State to open conference play and swept Northern Michigan in a pair of tight matchups.
SATURDAY'S GAME
-The Tommies and Vikings go to work on Saturday, November 15th at 6:07 p.m.
-St. Thomas is 1-3-0 all-time against Augustana and 0-2-0 at Midco Arena.
-The Purple are in search of their first regulation conference win. (They have played the fewest conference games in the CCHA).
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 home games 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.
450 FOR BLASI
-Head coach, Rico Blasi, won his 450th game on Tuesday against St. Cloud State. The now 25-year head coach currently sits 22nd all-time and fourth among active head coaches. He is 13 wins away from Murray Armstrong in 21st place, 18 from Joe Marsh in 20th, and 22 from Don Vaughan in 19th.
100 FOR WAHLIN
-Lucas Wahlin became the first Tommie to score 100 career points after his three-point burst against the Huskies on Tuesday. The Tommie captain did so in 109 games at a 0.92 points per game pace.
-25 different players either assisted on a Wahlin goal or scored a goal off a Wahlin assist over the course of the last four seasons.
-Liam Malmquist led each category with 12 assists on Wahlin goals and 15 goals off Wahlin assists.
WILL THE WALL
-Will Ingemann has been on fire in November with a 2-0-0 record behind a 1.97 goals against average and .935 save percentage.
-He leads all three Tommie netminders this season with two wins and a 2.21 GAA in four appearances.
HOT AND COLD
-The Tommie power play is scoreless in their last five games, and 0-6 during their two games in November.
-The Tommie penalty kill has not allowed a power play goal in three games and has only allowed one opponent to score on the power play in the last seven games. Their penalty kill is a perfect 7-7 in November.
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST AUGUSTANA
-Ryan O'Neill – 1G-1A-2P
-Lucas Wahlin – 1G-0A-1P
-Casy Laylin – 1G-0A-1P
-Carson Peters – 0G–1A–1P
-Quinton Pepper – 0G-1A-1P
-Cole Miller – 0G-1A-1P
-Chase Cheslock – 0G-1A-1P
-Aaron Trotter – 1-2-0, 69 saves, 5 GA, 1.66 GAA, .932SV%
WHY PLAY WITH FIVE?
-The Tommies led the country in shorthanded goals last season (9) and are right back at it this season with the second most in the entire nation (4).
-Nathan Pilling is one of six players in the country with two shorthanded goals. Pilling is the fourth Tommie to score multiple SHG in a season (Malmquist 4, 24-25; Byers 2, 23-24; Wahlin 2, 24-25).
-Lucas Van Vliet and Alex Gaffney account for the other two SHG by the Toms this season.
-St. Thomas scored a pair of SHG against Providence for the first time in program history. Pilling's first goal at LPA was a shorty.
GOING STREAKING
-Lucas Wahlin (4 points), Alex Gaffney (3 points), and Charlie Schoen (2 points) have each tallied a point in the last two Tommie wins.
SPARKLING IN ST. PAUL
-It has been a dream start for Alex Gaffney after transferring in from Harvard for his final season of college hockey.
-Gaffney has added 15 points in 10 games and leads the CCHA with 1.50 points per game.
-He led the Tommies with five goals and 11 points during October and currently leads the Purple with two goals and four points in November.
-He was the fastest Tommie to 10+ points in program history just one season after Liam Malmquist scored 10 points in eight games.
-The West Orange, N.J. native currently sits fourth in the country with 15P at 1.50 points per game.
MILESTONE WATCH
-Career Games Played
- Carson Peters is 2 away from 100
- Jake Braccini is 1 away from 50
- Luc Laylin is 1 away from 50
2025-26 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
-Alex Gaffney Forward of the Week (10/20/25)
-Chase Cheslock Defenseman of the Week (10/6/25)
2025-26 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
-Alex Gaffney Forward of the Month (11/3/25)
NOVEMBER RECAP
-2-0-0, +3 goal differential
-Finished off their season series with St. Cloud State on Tuesday to sweep the Huskies, 4-3 and 3-1.
-Took down the 18th ranked Mavericks, 4-3 in overtime on the road. Nathan Pilling notched his second game winner of the season.
-Alex Gaffney leads the Tommies with two goals and four points.
-Will Ingemann is 2-0-0 with a 1.97 GAA and .935 SV%.
-The Toms are 0-9 (0%) on the power play and 7-7 (100%) on the penalty kill.
OCTOBER RECAP
-2-5-1, -7 goal differential
-Won the first game of the season over St. Cloud State on the road, Nathan Pilling scored the game winning goal.
-Dropped a pair to North Dakota, 6-2 and 5-2.
-Split the road series with Air Force, with an 11-2 win in game one and a 6-2 loss in game two.
-Tied on night one at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena and then won the shootout against #15 Providence before dropping game two 7-4.
-Lost to open CCHA play against Mankato, 3-1 at home.
-Alex Gaffney led the Tommies with 11 points (5G-6A) in October.
-Carsen Musser was 1-4-0 with a 5.25 GAA and .831 SV%.
-Aaron Trotter was 1-0-1 with a 2.24 GAA and .929 SV% .
-Will Ingemann was 0-1-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .875 SV%.
-The Toms are 6-31 (19.4%) on the power play and 20-27 (74%) on the penalty kill.
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
-Lucas Wahlin (40), Cooper Gay (35, 2022-25), and Mack Byers (31, 2022-24) round out the top three in DI goals scored.
-Lucas Wahlin (100), Liam Malmquist (72, 2023-25), and Ryan O'Neill (72) make up the top three in career points.
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
-Bauer Berry (Edmonton Oilers)
-Chase Cheslock (New Jersey Devils)
-Carsen Musser (Utah Mammoth)
-Nathan Pilling (Ottawa Senators)
-Lucas Van Vliet (Vegas Golden Knights)
-Lucas Wahlin (Colorado Avalanche)
NHL DRAFT PICKS
-Bauer Berry was selected as the 218th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
-Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154th overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils and was the first drafted Tommie to commit to the program out of high school.
-Carsen Musser was selected as the 166th overall pick of the 2023 NHL draft by the Utah Mammoth.
-Lucas Van Vliet was selected as the 197th overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
IN GOOD COMPANY
-Lucas Wahlin entered the season third in career points in the NCAA among active players. His 92 (now 97) put him above all members of the CCHA and behind only Jeremy Wilmer of Quinnipiac (109) and T.J. Hughes of Michigan (122).
-Wahlin's 35 (now 38) career goals were ninth-most among active players.
-His 57 assists were fourth.
-Aaron Trotter's 78 career games in goal were fifth most in the country.
-Trotter's 26 career wins were tied for 10th.
PRESEASON PUB
-The Tommies were picked to finish in first place in the CCHA coaches' poll for the second consecutive season earlier in September.
-They were also selected second in the media poll for the second year in a row.
-Lucas Wahlin was once again named Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches after his 17-24—41 point season last year. The now senior was selected as team captain for the third-year running last week.
-Newcomer, Nathan Pilling, was named Preseason Rookie of the Year by the conference coaches. He skated in 218 total games across four seasons in the WHL for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Seattle Thunderbirds… scored 70 career goals, added 56 career assists, and tallied 126 total points in the WHL… coming off a career-best season as assistant captain with the Thunderbirds with 37 goals, 30 assists, and 67 points in 67 games in 2024-25.
COACH BLASI
-Entering fifth season for St. Thomas
-During his 20-year tenure at Miami, 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 Alex Martinez, Jeff Zatkoff, Blake Coleman, and Riley Smith.
-His 450-405-87 record has him 22nd all-time and 4th among active head coaches. He is 13 wins from Murray Armstrong in 21st place and 29 wins from the next closest active coach, Scott Sandelin in 18th place with 479.
NICE TO MEET YA
St. Thomas returned just 13 players from its breakthrough 2024-25 squad. The Tommies welcome in 15 newcomers into the fold, 10 freshman and five transfers.
-Freshmen
- Bauer Berry | 6-4 | Defenseman | Grand Forks, N.D. | Muskegon (USHL)
- Josh Giuliani | 6-1 | Forward | Plymouth, Minn. | Dubuque (USHL)
- Hayes Hundley | 6-3 | Defenseman | Upper Arlington, Ohio | Fargo (USHL)
- Will Ingemann | 5-11 | Goaltender | Plymouth, Minn. | Penticton (BCHL)
- Colton Jamieson | 6-0 | Defenseman | Hudson, Wis. | Madison (USHL)
- Attila Lippai | 5-9 | Forward | St. Paul, Minn. | Tri-City (USHL)
- Nathan Pilling | 6-4 | Forward | Calgary, Alta. | Seattle (WHL)
- Sam Ranallo | 5-10 | Forward | Rogers, Minn. | Cranbrook (BCHL)
- Luke Schelter | 6-2 | Forward | Centennial, Colo. | Fargo (USHL)
- Lucas Van Vliet | 6-2 | Forward | Livonia, Mich. | Dubuque (USHL)
- Alex Gaffney | 5-9 | Forward | West Orange, N.J. | Harvard (NCAA)
- Dylan Godbout | 5-11 | Forward | Woodbury, Minn. | Ohio State (NCAA)
- Carsen Musser | 6-4 | Goaltender | Fairmont, Minn. | Colorado (NCAA)
- Charlie Schoen | 5-10 | Forward | Andover, Minn. | Arizona State (NCAA)
- Nick Williams | 5-9 | Defenseman | Edina, Minn, | Michigan Tech (NCAA)
GOING GREY
-The Tommies are tied for the eighth most seniors in the country with eight.
-Between those eight seniors (Lucas Wahlin, Caige Sterzer, Ryan O'Neill, Quinton Pepper, Luc Laylin, Jake Braccini, Carson Peters, Aaron Trotter) they had amassed:
- 783 games
- 120 goals
- 210 assists
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