Late magic from Men’s Hockey in comeback shootout win

HOUGHTON, Mich. – For the second time in as many weeks, St. Thomas Men's Hockey (5-6-3 overall, 2-2-2 CCHA) found itself down by a goal in the final minute of regulation. For the second time in as many weeks, the Tommies found a way to push the game into overtime.

This Friday, it was Lucas Van Vliet's second tally of the game with 1.2 seconds remaining to secure at least one point from the Michigan Tech Huskies (8-5-2, 5-2-2) in a 3-3 tie. The freshman also scored the lone goal of the shootout to snag that second CCHA point for the Purple.

Period Summary

First Period

Michigan Tech scored the game's first goal at 7:38, 34 seconds into their first power play of the night. The Huskies ended up with two PP goals in the 3-3 tie.
This was the fifth game in a row that the Tommies fell down by a goal. They are 2-1-2 without a loss in regulation during that stretch.
The Tommies got their first (and second) chance on the power play after Tech's leading point scorer, Stiven Sardarian tripped Lucas Wahlin, and then cross-checked him down for good measure. The Huskie got a double minor that extended into the second period. St. Thomas came up empty on both.
The Huskies were outshot 13-5 but held the one goal advantage.

Second Period
-A familiar name, Stiven Sardarian, came up big at 7:06 to double the Michigan Tech lead on a slick wrist shot through traffic.
-That lead held up until the Tommies earned another power play opportunity at 13:23. Reigning CCHA Rookie of the Week, Lucas Van Vliet, ripped a shot in on former Lindenwood Lion, Owen Bartoszkiewicz, just as the power play expired. Van Vliet's third tally of the season, from Chase Cheslock and Nathan Pilling, halved the Michigan Tech margin.
-Former Michigan Tech Huskie, Nick Williams potted his fourth of the season in the final minute of play in the second. The goal tied Mason Poolman's four goals last season for the most by a defenseman in a single season in DI program history. Lucas Wahlin and Ryan O'Neill each assisted on the game tying tally.
-The Toms outshot the Huskies by the same margin, 13-5.

Third Period
-Arguably the second most impactful play of the night came at 4:25 when Wahlin was whistled for a tripping minor that was upgraded to a slew footing major penalty and game misconduct that left the Tommies down a man for five minutes and without their captain for the rest of the night.
-Sardarian struck again at 6:41 to put MTU back in front.
-Carsen Musser stopped all seven shots after the goal before he exited the net with under two minutes remaining.
-Jake Braccini won a key face-off to the right of the Tech net directly to Ryan O'Neill who wristed a shot on net. Alex Gaffney found the rebound and passed it back to O'Neill who, instead of taking a another shot, feathered a pass through bodies in front to Lucas Van Vliet. The freshman marksman beat the Tech netminder with 1.2 to go.

Overtime & Shootout
-The Tommies outshot the Huskies 4-1 in overtime but could not find the back of the net.
-Carsen Musser made each of the three stops needed to set up Van Vliet in the shootout.
-The freshman completed his career night with the shootout winner.

Up Next
The Tommies look to stretch their point-streak to six games tomorrow night at 5:07 p.m. CST at MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Michigan against the Michigan Tech Huskies.

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.

Late magic from Men’s Hockey in comeback shootout win

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Team Stats

Lucas Van Vliet

Ryan O'Neill

Nick Williams

Lucas Wahlin

Players Mentioned

Jake Braccini

Chase Cheslock

Alex Gaffney

Carsen Musser

Ryan O'Neill

Nathan Pilling

Mason Poolman

Lucas Van Vliet

Lucas Wahlin

Nick Williams

University of St. Thomas Athletics