University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, February 21
Marquette, Mich. / Berry Events Center
6:07 p.m. Central
at
Northern Michigan
Photo by: George Dannecker
Final road trip: Tommies head to Northern Michigan
2/20/2025 3:49:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The Tommies battle the Wildcats in a two game road series with playoff home ice on the line
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
ON THE RADIO
CCHA TV ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
THE KING OF THE NORTH RETURNS
Jake Sibell was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the third time in his career and first time this season after his tremendous start against Bowling Green on the road.
Sibell and the Tommies came away with a tight 2-1 victory on the road against the Bowling Green Falcons thanks mainly to the extraordinary effort from the senior netminder. The Isanti, Minn. native set a new single game program record with 57 saves in regulation to win his team a game in which they were outshot by 37.
In his first start since mid-January, Sibell's talents were tested at the very start with 24 saves in the first period. He got through the second period unscathed as well with 17 more saves and did not allow a goal until his 45thshot faced. At that point the Tommies had a one goal lead that was then restored minutes after the Falcon tally.
Jake Sibell broke the program record by 12 saves. His season saves percentage jumped up to .915 and his saves per game jumped to 29.42 (3rd in the CCHA).
SERIES HISTORY
The Tommies and Wildcats have each won four of the eight matchups over the past three seasons. The Wildcats won the first three, the Tommies have won four of the last five. St. Thomas took the season series nine points to three last season with a sweep at Saint Thomas Ice Arena and split at Berry Events Center.
Northern Michigan has outscored the Tommies 24-23 in eight games all-time.
Cooper Gay had the game-winning goal in the second period the last time the two sides met in January of 2024. Jake Sibell played near perfectly in net with just one goal allowed on 27 shots. In two games against the Wildcats for his career, Sibell is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and .963 save percentage.
Both teams have struggled on the power play when facing one another historically. The Tommie power play is just 3-33 (9.1%) and the Wildcat power play is just 6-31 (19.4%). Even with winning the season series, the Tommies were able to score just 1-14 while on the power play last season.
CCHA RANKINGS
NCAA RANKINGS
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN
GOING STREAKING
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
FEBRUARY RECAP
JANUARY RECAP
DECEMBER RECAP
NOVEMBER RECAP
OCTOBER RECAP
MOVIN' ON UP
With the Tommies' 3-2 win over the Mavericks last weekend, head coach Rico Blasi moved into 22nd on the all-time NCAA Men's Hockey Coach wins leaderboard. He passed Bill Wilkinson with the 438th win of his career. (He now has 439)
Coach Blasi is seventh in wins among active head coaches. One of those six coaches ahead (Bob Daniels, Ferris State, 507 career wins) has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
Blasi is 24 wins shy of 21st all-time (Murray Armstrong).
A WIZARD AT WORK
Liam Malmquist is one of three players in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.07). In total, the Edina native has a CCHA-leading 32 points in 30 games. Malmquist scored a career-high 27 points in 36 games last season (0.75 points per game). He scored 12 points during the month of November and added 13 points in January.
It took him just eight games to surpass the 10-point mark when he scored his 10th and 11th against Minnesota State on 11/8/24. He was the fastest Tommie to 10 points in program history.
2021-22: Christiano Versich – 17 games
2022-23: Lucas Wahlin – 15 games
2023-24: Lucas Wahlin – 10 games
2024-25: Liam Malmquist – 8 games
Lucas Wahlin will hold onto the title for fastest to the 20-point mark, he did so in just 16 games last season. Wahlin scored 30 points for the first time in program history last season, it took him 36 games.
Liam was the fastest in program history to 30 points, he did so in 24 games, he is also the single season program record holder with 32 points. He has not recorded a point in six games.
SOMEBODY, STOP THAT MALM!
Liam Malmquist's four-point performance against Lindenwood moved him into the top three in program history with 50 points in Purple. He is the third Tommie to surpass 50 career points (Lucas Wahlin 67 points and Ryan O'Neill 55).
He completed the feat in 56 games, a program record. It took O'Neill 82 games and Wahlin 62 games.
COACH BLASI
NON-CONFERENCE
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
CHASE FOLEY – NOVEMBER DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association released its monthly honors and named grad transfer Chase Foley CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the second Tommie defenseman to be honored this season.
Foley, a native of Mendota Heights, Minn. has helped propel the Tommie power play from worst in the CCHA and one of the worst in the country through the first six games to the best in the conference and 12th best in the nation at 25% (12-48). The blue liner contributed on eight power play goals with one goal of his own and seven assists during November. The Tommies' power play during that 10-game stretch jumped to 42.9% (12-28).
His nine points this season are the fourth most all-time for a Tommie defenseman. He has 19 games to tie Ethan Gauer's single-season program record 12 points. Foley has also climbed into the top 20 all-time scoring list for the Tommies' short Division I history.
The Colorado College transfer has a point in five of his last six games and added a point in seven of the Tommies' ten November games. He added his only multi-point game of the season against Minnesota State on 11/8 and scored his first goal in purple on 11/29 against Lake Superior State.
The award is Foley's first CCHA honor. He is the second Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month, Mason Poolman did it earlier this season for the month of October.
MASON POOLMAN – CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
Mason Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first Tommie to receive the honor in program history.
Poolman, a native of East Grand Forks, Minn.. scored two goals and added an assist in game one against the Vermont Catamounts and tallied the game-winning goal in game two against the nonconference foe. His second goal on Friday tied the game at five and pushed the affair to overtime.
He matched the Tommies' single-season program record for goals by a defenseman in just one weekend. The sophomore is now tied with Ethan Gauer (2022-23) and Trevor Zins (2021-22). He also surpassed his freshman season goal total of two.
After a week off for the Toms' early season bye, Poolman added an assist in St. Thomas' game-two loss against #5 Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center.
He is currently tied for the team-lead with five points and sits in the top 10 in the CCHA in points, goals, points per game, and goals per game. He also paced all conference defenseman in goals and points during October.
The award is Poolman's second CCHA honor of any sort in his 33-game collegiate career. He is the first Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month and the first defenseman to receive more than one in-season CCHA honor in program history.
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
NHL DRAFT PICKS
CAPTAINS
TRANSFERS
FRESHMEN
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – LUCAS WAHLIN
Junior, Lucas Wahlin was the first Tommie to score 30 points in a season, the first Tommie to be named to an All-CCHA team, and now the first Tommie in Division I program history to be named CCHA Preseason Player of the Year.
He was one of three named by conference head coaches along with Isaac Gordon of Michigan Tech and Connor Milburn of Lake Superior State. Wahlin was the only Preseason Player of the Year selected by the media. He was also named to both Preseason All-CCHA Teams.
The junior captain set career marks in goals (12), assists (18), and points (30) while playing in all 37 games last season. He ranked t-11th in goals, t-7th in assists, t-7th in points, and 3rd in shots in the conference.
Wahlin, a native of Woodbury, Minn., is the program's leader in points (51) and is the only Tommie above the 50-point milestone during the DI era. He was also the program's first sophomore captain.
He earned Second-Team All-CCHA, CCHA All-Academic, and CCHA Scholar Athlete honors last season and was named conference player of the week on November 6 for his four points in a weekend series sweep of Northern Michigan.
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish first in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll on September 12th. The former high-water mark in the preseason poll was a fifth-place finish last season. The Toms earned 73 votes in total and tied with Bemidji State in first place votes (3). The Beavers earned 69 votes, four behind St. Thomas. Michigan Tech (2) and Minnesota State (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (50), Lake Superior State (46), Augustana (46), Ferris State (28), and Northern Michigan (26) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish second in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll on September 12th. This is the highest the Tommies have ever finished in the preseason media poll. Bemidji State came out on top with 107 total votes and five first place votes. The Tommies came up with the same amout of total votes (107) but earned one less first place vote. Minnesota State (2) and Michigan Tech (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (63), Lake Superior State (60), Augustana (52), Northern Michigan (40), and Ferris State (33) rounded out the poll.
- This weekend's series between the St. Thomas Tommies (12-13-5 overall, 9-9-4 CCHA) and the Northern Michigan Wildcats (5-24-1, 4-17-1) represents a near must-win scenario for the visiting Tommies. With two wins, the Toms would be no more than five points behind the Michigan Tech Huskies for fourth place and a coveted home series in the CCHA Quarterfinals. They play the Huskies next weekend at home. This weekend, the Toms head to Berry Events Center in Marquette, Michigan for a Friday night game at 6:07 p.m. central and a Saturday night contest at 5:07 p.m. central.
- The Wildcats started the 2024-25 season as one of the worst teams in the country but have bounced back with a strong showing during this calendar year. Northern Michigan won just one of its first 20 games and was down near the bottom of the pairwise rankings. They came bursting into 2025 with three wins in four games against nationally ranked Minnesota State and Bemidji State. They have since cooled with just one win out of their last six games. They most recently took two points from Lake State in a 3-2 overtime win. Freshman, Jakub Altrichter leads the way on the offensive end with three goals and 14 assists, the 'Cats' leading goal scorer is freshman Grayden Slipec with eight scores. In goal has been veteran goaltender Ryan Oullette with a 5-22-1 record in 28 starts behind a 2.82 goals against average and .920 save percentage. They have the worst power play in the CCHA at 13.5% and the 6thpenalty kill at 74%.
- The Tommies came away from a road weekend with a talented Bowling Green team with an even split after a 4-1 loss and 2-1 win. Cooper Gay leads the Toms and the CCHA with 15 goals, a new career high. Liam Malmquist is at the top of the conference with 32 points but has not tallied a point in six games. Aaron Trotter is 7-9-2 with a 2.63 GAA and .909 SV% while Jake Sibell is 5-4-3 with a 2.85 GAA and .915 SV%. The Tommies' power play is the best in program history with 25 goals this season on 95 attempts (26.3%), their power play comes in at 79.8%.
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 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.
THE KING OF THE NORTH RETURNS
Jake Sibell was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week for the third time in his career and first time this season after his tremendous start against Bowling Green on the road.
Sibell and the Tommies came away with a tight 2-1 victory on the road against the Bowling Green Falcons thanks mainly to the extraordinary effort from the senior netminder. The Isanti, Minn. native set a new single game program record with 57 saves in regulation to win his team a game in which they were outshot by 37.
In his first start since mid-January, Sibell's talents were tested at the very start with 24 saves in the first period. He got through the second period unscathed as well with 17 more saves and did not allow a goal until his 45thshot faced. At that point the Tommies had a one goal lead that was then restored minutes after the Falcon tally.
Jake Sibell broke the program record by 12 saves. His season saves percentage jumped up to .915 and his saves per game jumped to 29.42 (3rd in the CCHA).
SERIES HISTORY
The Tommies and Wildcats have each won four of the eight matchups over the past three seasons. The Wildcats won the first three, the Tommies have won four of the last five. St. Thomas took the season series nine points to three last season with a sweep at Saint Thomas Ice Arena and split at Berry Events Center.
Northern Michigan has outscored the Tommies 24-23 in eight games all-time.
Cooper Gay had the game-winning goal in the second period the last time the two sides met in January of 2024. Jake Sibell played near perfectly in net with just one goal allowed on 27 shots. In two games against the Wildcats for his career, Sibell is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and .963 save percentage.
Both teams have struggled on the power play when facing one another historically. The Tommie power play is just 3-33 (9.1%) and the Wildcat power play is just 6-31 (19.4%). Even with winning the season series, the Tommies were able to score just 1-14 while on the power play last season.
CCHA RANKINGS
- Cooper Gay 1st with 15 goals
- Liam Malmquist T-4th with 12 goals
- Lucas Wahlin T-4th with 12 goals
- Matthew Gleason 19th with 9 goals
- Liam Malmquist T-2nd with 20 assists
- Wahlin T-6th with 16 assists
- Chase Foley T-16th with 13 assists
- Liam Malmquist T-1st with 32 points
- Lucas Wahlin 4th with 28 points
- Cooper Gay T-6th with 25 points
- Gay (125), Malmquist (110) Wahlin (107), – 1st, 3rd, 4th in shots
- Jake Braccini T-23rd with 66 shots
- Gleason & Caige Sterzer T-3rd with .190 shot %
- Gay T-2nd with 6 power play goals
- Malmquist T-5th with 5 power play goals
- Gleason T-7th with 4 power play goals
- Wahlin T-13th with 3 power play goals
- Gay 1st with .56 goals per game
- Malmquist 1st with 3 shorthanded goals
- Malmquist 13th with +9 rating
- Wahlin T-17th with +7 rating
- Chase Cheslock T-20th with +6 rating
NCAA RANKINGS
- Liam Malmquist T-31st with .61 assists per game
- Lucas Wahlin T-37th with 276 faceoff wins
- Jake Sibell T-37th with .542 winning percentage
- Cooper Gay 18th with .56 goals per game
- Malmquist T-32nd with 1.07 points per game
- Gay T-17th with 6 power play goals
- Malmquist T-31st with 5 power play goals
- Jake Sibell T-25th with .915 SV%
- Malmquist T-1st with 3 shorthanded goals
- Matthew Gleason T-21st with 1 shorthanded goal
- St. Thomas – T-8th with .253 power play
- St. Thomas – 9th with 11.43 penalty minutes per game
- St. Thomas – T-5th with 6 shorthanded goals
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN
- Ryan O'Neill – 3G-2A-5P
- Lucas Wahlin – 4G-1A-5P
- Cooper Gay – 1G-3A-4P
- Ethan Gauer – 0G-3A-3P
- Jake Braccini – 1G-1A-2P
- Carson Peters – 0G-2A-2P
- J.D. Metz – 1G-1A-2P
- Quinton Pepper – 0G-2A-2P
- Matthew Gleason – 0G-2A-2P
- Luc Laylin – 1G-0A-1P
- Cole Miller – 0G-1A-1P
- Liam Malmquist – 0G-1A-1P
- Chase Cheslock – 0G-1A-1P
- Aaron Trotter – 2-2-0, 82 saves, 10 GA, 218 min .891 SV%, 2.75 GAA
- Jake Sibell – 2-0-0, 52 saves, 2 GA, 120 min, .963 SV%, 1.00 GAA
- Power Play – 3-33
- Penalty Kill – 25-31
GOING STREAKING
- Cooper Gay – 4 game point streak
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
- Mason Poolman Defenseman of the Week (10/13/24)
- Cooper Gay Forward of the Week (11/18/24)
- Lucas Wahlin Forward of the Week (1/6/25)
- Liam Malmquist Forward of the Week (1/13/25)
- Liam Malmquist Forward of the Week (1/20/25)
- Jake Sibell Goaltender of the Week (2/10/25)
2024-25 CCHA PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
- Mason Poolman Defenseman of the Month (10/30/24)
- Chase Foley Defenseman of the Month (12/3/24)
- Liam Malmquist Forward of the Month (2/1/25)
FEBRUARY RECAP
- 1-2-0 record, -3 goal differential
- Fell in overtime to #15 Minnesota State after a clutch goal with an extra attacker by Chase Foley with just over one minute to go.
- Split their final series with Bowling Green with a 4-1 loss in game one followed by a 2-1 win in game two. Jake Sibell saved a program record 57 shots in the win.
- Lucas Wahlin and Cooper Gay each lead the team with three points during February. Wahlin also leads the team with two goals.
- Aaron Trotter is 0-2-0 with a 3.51 goals against average and .873 save percentage
- Jake Sibell is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and .983 save percentage
- The Toms are 1-6 on the power play and 7-9 on the penalty kill.
JANUARY RECAP
- 7-1-1 record, +9 goal differential
- Swept Lindenwood for the first of the season. They won their first overtime game of the year, 3-2 before a come-from-behind effort in game two.
- Swept Ferris State with a program-record nine goals on Friday and came back in the final half of the third period on Saturday.
- Took 4 of six points from the Lakers with a 4-3 overtime win and 3-3 tie with a shootout victory.
- Split with Bemidji State with a 3-2 win and 2-1 loss.
- Took four points from their weekend series with #15 Minnesota State with a 3-2 comeback win on Friday, and a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday.
- Liam Malmquist led the team with six goals and 13 points during the month of January. Cooper Gay and Jake Braccini also scored six goals.
- Jake Sibell was 3-0-0 with a 3.49 goals against average and .891 save percentage
- Aaron Trotter was 4-1-1 with a 2.40 goals against average and .921 save percentage
- The Toms were 9-30 on the power play (30.0%) and 18-24 on the penalty kill (75.0%).
- They were +5 in the first period, -3 in the second, and +5 in the third.
DECEMBER RECAP
- 1-2-0 record, +1 goal differential
- Split series on the road against a strong Michigan Tech team. Outshot the Huskies 26-25 but could not find the equalizer after taking and giving up an early lead. St. Thomas was greatly outshot against Tech in game two 30-17 but rode a three-goal first period to an easy victory.
- Fell in second game of split series with #12 St, Cloud state in 5th one-goal loss of the season, 2-1.
- Mason Poolman, Cole Miller, Lucas Wahlin, Matthew Gleason, Liam Malmquist, Alexander Tell, and Chase Cheslock each led the Tommies with 2 points during December. Poolman, Miller, Wahlin, Gleason, Malmquist, and Cooper Gay each had one of the Toms' six goals.
- Aaron Trotter appeared in three games with an 0-2-0 record, 1.65 GAA, .942SV%, 4GA, 65SV in 145 minutes
- Jake Sibell made one start but was removed midway due to injury. He has a 1-0-0 record, 1.94GAA, .944SV%, 1GA, 17SV in 31 minutes.
- The Toms were 1-11 on the power play (9.1%) and 4-6 on the penalty kill (66.6%).
NOVEMBER RECAP
- 2-5-3 record, -1 goal differential
- Split series with Augustana, won game one 4-0 and lost game two 3-2
- Took one of the six possible points from Minnesota State with a 5-3 home loss and 1-1 tie (SOL) on the road
- Tied Bowling Green in game one, lost in the shootout, defeated the Falcons 6-3 in game two, their second largest margin of victory this season.
- Tied Bemidji State in game one 2-2, lost in the shootout, fell to the Beavers in regulation, 2-1 in game two.
- Fell in both games by two goals each against Lake State.
- Cooper Gay was named CCHA Forward of the Week for the first time in his career after his three-goal weekend against the Falcons.
- Chase Foley was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month for his eight power play points to lead the Tommie power play to its top spot in the conference (25%)
- Lucas Wahlin and Matthew Gleason each pace the Tommies with five goals in November, Liam Malmquist's 12 points led the team.
- Aaron Trotter made six starts in goal with a .900 SV% and 2.67 GAA.
- Jake Sibell saw action in four games with a .933 SV% and 1.94 GAA.
- The Toms were 12-31 on the power play (38.7%) and 37-44 on the penalty kill (84.1%).
OCTOBER RECAP
- 1-3-1 record, -9 goal differential
- Lost a 1-0 game to open the season against nationally ranked St. Cloud State
- Tied with Vermont 5-5 in game one at home and then took the season series with a 3-1 win over the Catamounts
- Mason Poolman's three goals in the series set a new high-water mark for his career and earned him his first CCHA Defenseman of the Week honor
- Lost both games to a tremendously talented Minnesota Golden Gophers squad, 7-1 and 6-2
- Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first in program history
- Cooper Gay and Mason Poolman led the way with three goals in October, Poolman and Liam Malmquist each led the way with five points over the five games. Casy Laylin played all five games and finished the month with a team-best +3 rating
- The Tommies were 0-17 on the power play and 17-21 (.810) on the penalty kill
MOVIN' ON UP
With the Tommies' 3-2 win over the Mavericks last weekend, head coach Rico Blasi moved into 22nd on the all-time NCAA Men's Hockey Coach wins leaderboard. He passed Bill Wilkinson with the 438th win of his career. (He now has 439)
Coach Blasi is seventh in wins among active head coaches. One of those six coaches ahead (Bob Daniels, Ferris State, 507 career wins) has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
Blasi is 24 wins shy of 21st all-time (Murray Armstrong).
A WIZARD AT WORK
Liam Malmquist is one of three players in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.07). In total, the Edina native has a CCHA-leading 32 points in 30 games. Malmquist scored a career-high 27 points in 36 games last season (0.75 points per game). He scored 12 points during the month of November and added 13 points in January.
It took him just eight games to surpass the 10-point mark when he scored his 10th and 11th against Minnesota State on 11/8/24. He was the fastest Tommie to 10 points in program history.
2021-22: Christiano Versich – 17 games
2022-23: Lucas Wahlin – 15 games
2023-24: Lucas Wahlin – 10 games
2024-25: Liam Malmquist – 8 games
Lucas Wahlin will hold onto the title for fastest to the 20-point mark, he did so in just 16 games last season. Wahlin scored 30 points for the first time in program history last season, it took him 36 games.
Liam was the fastest in program history to 30 points, he did so in 24 games, he is also the single season program record holder with 32 points. He has not recorded a point in six games.
SOMEBODY, STOP THAT MALM!
Liam Malmquist's four-point performance against Lindenwood moved him into the top three in program history with 50 points in Purple. He is the third Tommie to surpass 50 career points (Lucas Wahlin 67 points and Ryan O'Neill 55).
He completed the feat in 56 games, a program record. It took O'Neill 82 games and Wahlin 62 games.
COACH BLASI
- Entering fourth season for St. Thomas
- During his 20-year tenure at Miami (Ohio) 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 Alec Martinez, Jeff Zatkoff, Blake Coleman, and Riley Smith.
- 439 career wins (22nd all-time / seventh among active head coaches)
NON-CONFERENCE
- St. Thomas played eight non-conference games this season. They opened with the #16 ranked St. Cloud State Huskies for their first ranked-on-ranked matchup in program history. Vermont made their first journey to Mendota Heights before the Toms headed across the river for a game on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Game two of the cross-town series returned to Xcel Energy Center on Saturday October 26, presented by Wings Credit Union. The Toms' dropped the second half of their split series with #12 St. Cloud. They wrapped up their out-of-conference schedule with a sweep of the Lindenwood Lions, their first of the season.
- The Toms were 3-4-1 outside of the CCHA this season. They fell to the #16 St. Cloud State Huskies, 1-0, to open the season. St. Thomas tied Vermont 5-5 and beat them 3-1 to take the series. They fell in two games to #5 Minnesota, 7-1 and 6-2 and lost another one-goal battle with #12 St. Cloud State. Most recently they swept Lindenwood on the road, 3-2 in overtime and 4-2.
- St. Thomas had a -7 goal differential in eight non-con games.
- The Tommies have played four games against ranked non-conference opponents and they are 0-4-0.
- 1-1-1 home record, 2-2-0 away record, 0-1-0 neutral site record
DI SCORING RECORD HOLDERS
- Mack Byers (2022-24; 31), Cooper Gay (31), and Lucas Wahlin (30) round out the top three in DI goals scored
- Cooper Gay scored the Tommies' only goal in their 4-1 loss against Bowling Green the weekend before last week's bye.
- Lucas Wahlin scored both Tommie goals in their 2-1 win against the Falcons the following night. It was Wahlin's 4th career multi-goal game.
- Lucas Wahlin (79), Ryan O'Neill (60), and Liam Malmquist (59), make up the top three in DI points
- Wahlin added two points on his two goals against Bowling Green.
CHASE FOLEY – NOVEMBER DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association released its monthly honors and named grad transfer Chase Foley CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the second Tommie defenseman to be honored this season.
Foley, a native of Mendota Heights, Minn. has helped propel the Tommie power play from worst in the CCHA and one of the worst in the country through the first six games to the best in the conference and 12th best in the nation at 25% (12-48). The blue liner contributed on eight power play goals with one goal of his own and seven assists during November. The Tommies' power play during that 10-game stretch jumped to 42.9% (12-28).
His nine points this season are the fourth most all-time for a Tommie defenseman. He has 19 games to tie Ethan Gauer's single-season program record 12 points. Foley has also climbed into the top 20 all-time scoring list for the Tommies' short Division I history.
The Colorado College transfer has a point in five of his last six games and added a point in seven of the Tommies' ten November games. He added his only multi-point game of the season against Minnesota State on 11/8 and scored his first goal in purple on 11/29 against Lake Superior State.
The award is Foley's first CCHA honor. He is the second Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month, Mason Poolman did it earlier this season for the month of October.
MASON POOLMAN – CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
Mason Poolman was named CCHA Defenseman of the Month, the first Tommie to receive the honor in program history.
Poolman, a native of East Grand Forks, Minn.. scored two goals and added an assist in game one against the Vermont Catamounts and tallied the game-winning goal in game two against the nonconference foe. His second goal on Friday tied the game at five and pushed the affair to overtime.
He matched the Tommies' single-season program record for goals by a defenseman in just one weekend. The sophomore is now tied with Ethan Gauer (2022-23) and Trevor Zins (2021-22). He also surpassed his freshman season goal total of two.
After a week off for the Toms' early season bye, Poolman added an assist in St. Thomas' game-two loss against #5 Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center.
He is currently tied for the team-lead with five points and sits in the top 10 in the CCHA in points, goals, points per game, and goals per game. He also paced all conference defenseman in goals and points during October.
The award is Poolman's second CCHA honor of any sort in his 33-game collegiate career. He is the first Tommie in program history to be named Defenseman of the Month and the first defenseman to receive more than one in-season CCHA honor in program history.
NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS
- Chase Cheslock (New Jersey Devils)
- Ryder Donovan (Vegas Golden Knights)
- Cooper Gay (Colorado Avalanche)
- Lucas Wahlin (St. Louis Blues)
- Liam Malmquist (Los Angeles Kings)
NHL DRAFT PICKS
- Ryder Donovan was selected as the 110th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
- Donovan played three games last season for the Purple but made an instant impact with the overtime game-winner against ranked St. Cloud State to open the season.
- Chase Cheslock was selected as the 154th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils and is the Tommies first "homegrown" draft pick.
- Cheslock joined the Tommies mid-season and played 19 games with one goal and two assists. His first career goal came in the Toms' game-two playoff win over Lake Superior State.
CAPTAINS
- Junior, Lucas Wahlin, wears the "C" on his chest for coach Rico Blasi's squad for the second consecutive season. Wahlin, a Woodbury, Minn. native, finished with 30 points in 37 games last season. He became the first Tommie in program history to surpass the 50-point career milestone on March 9thagainst Lake Superior State. He played for three teams over three seasons in both the NAHL and USHL before finding a home on the corner of Cretin and Summit.
- Seniors Ethan Gauer and Matthew Gleason along with junior Cooper Gay don the "A" this season.
- Both Gauer and Gleason are one-time transfers, but Gauer has played in each season of the Tommies' four at the DI level. He has 25 career points and leads the program with 124 blocked shots in 103 career games in purple.
- Matthew Gleason transferred in from Colorado College last season and had a career year. He scored five goals and added 18 assists for 23 points. Gleason is originally from St. Paul and played high school hockey for Cretin Derham Hall.
- Cooper Gay was on track for a tremendous season before going down with an injury in the second half of the season. The Hanover, Minn. native scored 12 goals and added 10 assists for a total of 22 points in 29 games as a sophomore. Gay has scored the fifth most goals in program history (16) and is sixth in points (29).
TRANSFERS
- Graduate student, Chase Foley, a Mendota Heights, Minn. native and Colorado College transfer, played 104 games for the Tigers and scored three goals with 28 assists over his four-year career as a defenseman. He is coming off a career season with two goals and 14 assists.
- Graduate student, Ray Christy, a St. Paul, Minn. native and Colorado College transfer, played 105 games for the Tigers and scored five goals with nine assists over his four-year career as a defenseman. He is coming off a career season with two goals and five assists while wearing the "A".
- Junior, Caige Sterzer, a Kimberley, B.C., Canada native and Lindenwood transfer, played 54 games for the Lions and scored 14 goals with 19 assists over his two-year NCAA career as a forward. He is coming off a career season with eight goals and 14 assists, he was the Lions leading point scorer.
- Both Chase Foley and Ray Christy played their Minnesota High School hockey at Saint Thomas Ice Arena for the Saint Thomas Academy Cadets. Neither Christy nor Foley has played in Mendota Heights since 2017-18. Foley was the captain of that 2017-18 Cadets team.
FRESHMEN
- First-year, Casy Laylin, native of St. Michael, Minn. most recently played for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL for a season and a half. The forward skated in 69 games and added 15 goals and 29 assists for Salmon Arm.
- First-year forward, Nick Mikan, an Edina, Minn. native, most recently played for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL where he skated in 35 games with eight goals and five assists.
- First-year defenseman, Ethan Elias, a native of Maple Grove, Minn., most recently played for the Madison Capitols for two seasons where he skated in 105 games with 10 goals and 22 assists. He was the captain of the 2023-24 Capitols team.
- First-year forward, Alexander Tell, from Linkoping, Sweden, skated in 49 games for Linkoping HC 120 and added 11 goals and 14 assists while wearing an "A".
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – LUCAS WAHLIN
Junior, Lucas Wahlin was the first Tommie to score 30 points in a season, the first Tommie to be named to an All-CCHA team, and now the first Tommie in Division I program history to be named CCHA Preseason Player of the Year.
He was one of three named by conference head coaches along with Isaac Gordon of Michigan Tech and Connor Milburn of Lake Superior State. Wahlin was the only Preseason Player of the Year selected by the media. He was also named to both Preseason All-CCHA Teams.
The junior captain set career marks in goals (12), assists (18), and points (30) while playing in all 37 games last season. He ranked t-11th in goals, t-7th in assists, t-7th in points, and 3rd in shots in the conference.
Wahlin, a native of Woodbury, Minn., is the program's leader in points (51) and is the only Tommie above the 50-point milestone during the DI era. He was also the program's first sophomore captain.
He earned Second-Team All-CCHA, CCHA All-Academic, and CCHA Scholar Athlete honors last season and was named conference player of the week on November 6 for his four points in a weekend series sweep of Northern Michigan.
PRESEASON CCHA COACHES POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish first in the Preseason CCHA Coaches Poll on September 12th. The former high-water mark in the preseason poll was a fifth-place finish last season. The Toms earned 73 votes in total and tied with Bemidji State in first place votes (3). The Beavers earned 69 votes, four behind St. Thomas. Michigan Tech (2) and Minnesota State (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (50), Lake Superior State (46), Augustana (46), Ferris State (28), and Northern Michigan (26) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON CCHA MEDIA POLL
St. Thomas was picked to finish second in the Preseason CCHA Media Poll on September 12th. This is the highest the Tommies have ever finished in the preseason media poll. Bemidji State came out on top with 107 total votes and five first place votes. The Tommies came up with the same amout of total votes (107) but earned one less first place vote. Minnesota State (2) and Michigan Tech (1) finished third and fourth respectively and each earned at least one first place vote. Bowling Green (63), Lake Superior State (60), Augustana (52), Northern Michigan (40), and Ferris State (33) rounded out the poll.
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/ Men's HockeyPress Conference: Rico Blasi January 27th 2025
Monday, January 27
St. Thomas Men's Hockey 2023-24 Intro Video
Friday, October 27
Rico Blasi Pre-Season Press Conference, September 26th, 2022
Friday, October 21
Rico Blasi Press Conference October 3rd
Friday, October 21
