University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, February 28
Mendota Heights, Minn.
7:07 p.m. Central
vs
Michigan Tech
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Men’s Hockey battles Michigan Tech for rights to home ice in CCHA Quarterfinals
2/27/2025 11:52:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Tommies say goodbye to Saint Thomas Ice Arena and eight seniors
THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES
ON THE RADIO
CCHA TV ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
SO LONG SENIORS
The Tommies will celebrate eight seniors this weekend:
Ray Christy – St. Paul, Minn.
Ryder Donovan – Duluth, Minn.
Jake Sibell – Isanti, Minn.
Chase Foley – Mendota Heights, Minn.
Matthew Gleason – St. Paul, Minn.
Liam Malmquist – Edina, Minn.
Grant Docter – Golden Valley, Minn.
Ethan Gauer – Farmington, Minn.
The eight have combined for 437 games, 50 goals, 119 assists, 169 points, 337 blocks, 14 goalie wins, and 767 saves.
SO LONG SAINT THOMAS ICE ARENA
The Tommies will also be saying farewell to Saint Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. this weekend after their final regular season games.
Home to the Tommies since its opening in 2003, Saint Thomas Ice Arena has seen an over .600 winning percentage between the men's and women's teams. The Tommie men are 170-102-28 all-time in the facility. They won 13 MIAC titles in the DIII days with seven regular season crowns and six playoff championships.
The Lee and Penny Anderson Arena will be the new home of St. Thomas Hockey and Basketball beginning the Fall of 2025.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN
Jake Sibell is 7-0-0 in his last seven starts since he was pulled from the Michigan Tech game due to injury on December 7th. The senior netminder has played on and off since then but when he's been on, he's been great.
During this recent run of play he has a .930 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average, he set the program record with 57 saves in a win over Bowling Green and recorded the first shutout of his collegiate career against Northern Michigan last weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies have won 10 of the 16 games between the two programs over the last four seasons including one of the two played earlier this season in Houghton. Michigan Tech took game one of that series 2-1 but St. Thomas rallied for a 4-1 win the following night.
Mason Poolman scored the first goal of game one. The Huskies got two unanswered by Aaron Trotter in net in the first and third periods. The Toms were 0-5 on the power play and the Huskies were 1-3 with that third period power play tally. Lucas Wahlin, Liam Malmquist, and Matthew Gleason each scored in the first period of the second game with Tech answering for one in the frame. Neither team scored in the second and Cole Miller sewed up the game with an empty netter in the final five minutes. Jake Sibell got the win and allowed one goal on 18 shots in 31:23 minutes. Aaron Trotter came in to finish the game and did not allow a goal on 12 shots.
St. Thomas has won four of the last six matchups including each of the last two at Saint Thomas Ice Arena during that period. The Huskies won six of the first seven (with a tie in the middle) to begin the all-time series. The Toms are 2-3-1 at home against the Huskies.
CCHA RANKINGS
NCAA RANKINGS
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST MICHIGAN TECH
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
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).
MOVIN' ON UP
With the Tommies' 3-2 win over the Mavericks earlier this season, 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 441)
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 22 wins shy of 21st all-time (Murray Armstrong).
A WIZARD AT WORK
Liam Malmquist is one of four players (Lucas Wahlin is also one) in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.13). In total, the Edina native has a CCHA-leading 36 points in 32 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 36 points.
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 (14-13-5 overall, 11-9-4 CCHA) and the Michigan Tech Huskies (16-13-3, 12-9-3) represents a pivotal home ice deciding series to conclude the regular season. Each side has their fate in their hands, a weekend series win will secure home ice advantage during the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Four points and a regulation win will lock up home ice next weekend for the Toms.
- Friday's game has a 7:07 p.m. puck drop. Following the game, St. Thomas' eight seniors will be celebrated on the ice with their families.
- Saturday's game has a 6:07 p.m. puck drop and represents the final regular season game at Saint Thomas Ice Arena before the Tommies move to their on-campus home at the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena next year. There will be a post-game celebration.
- The Huskies have won just one of their last six games (1-4-1). They were swept at home by Bemidji State, they lost one and won in a shootout on the road against Augustana, and they split at home with Ferris State last weekend. Junior forward Stiven Sardarian leads the way on the offensive side with 10 goals and 34 points, he has just two points in his last four games. Tech has played three goaltenders this season, they have combined for a 2.59 goals against average, .900 save percentage, and five shutouts. The Huskies have the second best offense in the CCHA at 2.81 goals per game and they deploy a deadly power play at 27%.
- The Tommies are 10-3-1 since the turn of the new year and most recently swept the Northern Michigan Wildcats on the road. Cooper Gay leads the Toms and the CCHA with 15 goals, a career high. Liam Malmquist is at the top of the conference with 36 points after a four point weekend against the 'Cats. Jake Sibell has won each of his last seven starts and is 7-4-3 overall with a 2.65 goals against average and .916 save percentage. Aaron Trotter has started six more games than Sibell and is 7-9-2 with a 2.63 goals against average and .909 save percentage. The Tommies' power play is the best in program history with 26 goals this season on 98 attempts (26.5%).
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.
SO LONG SENIORS
The Tommies will celebrate eight seniors this weekend:
Ray Christy – St. Paul, Minn.
Ryder Donovan – Duluth, Minn.
Jake Sibell – Isanti, Minn.
Chase Foley – Mendota Heights, Minn.
Matthew Gleason – St. Paul, Minn.
Liam Malmquist – Edina, Minn.
Grant Docter – Golden Valley, Minn.
Ethan Gauer – Farmington, Minn.
The eight have combined for 437 games, 50 goals, 119 assists, 169 points, 337 blocks, 14 goalie wins, and 767 saves.
SO LONG SAINT THOMAS ICE ARENA
The Tommies will also be saying farewell to Saint Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. this weekend after their final regular season games.
Home to the Tommies since its opening in 2003, Saint Thomas Ice Arena has seen an over .600 winning percentage between the men's and women's teams. The Tommie men are 170-102-28 all-time in the facility. They won 13 MIAC titles in the DIII days with seven regular season crowns and six playoff championships.
The Lee and Penny Anderson Arena will be the new home of St. Thomas Hockey and Basketball beginning the Fall of 2025.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN
Jake Sibell is 7-0-0 in his last seven starts since he was pulled from the Michigan Tech game due to injury on December 7th. The senior netminder has played on and off since then but when he's been on, he's been great.
During this recent run of play he has a .930 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average, he set the program record with 57 saves in a win over Bowling Green and recorded the first shutout of his collegiate career against Northern Michigan last weekend.
SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies have won 10 of the 16 games between the two programs over the last four seasons including one of the two played earlier this season in Houghton. Michigan Tech took game one of that series 2-1 but St. Thomas rallied for a 4-1 win the following night.
Mason Poolman scored the first goal of game one. The Huskies got two unanswered by Aaron Trotter in net in the first and third periods. The Toms were 0-5 on the power play and the Huskies were 1-3 with that third period power play tally. Lucas Wahlin, Liam Malmquist, and Matthew Gleason each scored in the first period of the second game with Tech answering for one in the frame. Neither team scored in the second and Cole Miller sewed up the game with an empty netter in the final five minutes. Jake Sibell got the win and allowed one goal on 18 shots in 31:23 minutes. Aaron Trotter came in to finish the game and did not allow a goal on 12 shots.
St. Thomas has won four of the last six matchups including each of the last two at Saint Thomas Ice Arena during that period. The Huskies won six of the first seven (with a tie in the middle) to begin the all-time series. The Toms are 2-3-1 at home against the Huskies.
CCHA RANKINGS
- Cooper Gay 1st with 15 goals
- Lucas Wahlin T-2nd with 14 goals
- Liam Malmquist T-5th with 13 goals
- Matthew Gleason T-13th with 10 goals
- Jake Braccini T-22nd with 8 goals
- Liam Malmquist 2nd with 23 assists
- Wahlin T-4th with 19 assists
- Chase Foley T-15th with 14 assists
- Liam Malmquist 1st with 36 points
- Lucas Wahlin 4th with 33 points
- Cooper Gay T-7th with 25 points
- Gay (133) and Wahlin (121), – 1st and 2nd in shots
- Gay T-2nd with 6 power play goals
- Malmquist T-5th with 5 power play goals
- Gleason T-8th with 4 power play goals
- Wahlin T-14th with 3 power play goals
- Ryan O'Neill T-14th with 3 power play goals
- Gay 1st with .52 goals per game
- Malmquist 1st with 1.13 points per game
- Malmquist 1st with 3 shorthanded goals
- Malmquist T-8th with +11 rating
- Wahlin T-15th with +9 rating
- Chase Cheslock T-18th with +8 rating
- Matthew Gleason T-24th with a +6 rating
NCAA RANKINGS
- Liam Malmquist T-17th with .72 assists per game
- Lucas Wahlin T-28th with 306 faceoff wins
- Jake Sibell 30th with .607 winning percentage
- Cooper Gay T-20th with .52 goals per game
- Malmquist 19th with 1.12 points per game
- Wahlin T-38th with 1.03 points per game
- Gay T-17th with 6 power play goals
- Malmquist T-31st with 5 power play goals
- Jake Sibell 27th with .916 SV%
- Malmquist T-1st with 3 shorthanded goals
- Matthew Gleason T-21st with 1 shorthanded goal
- St. Thomas – T-8th with .255 power play
- St. Thomas – T-6th with 6 shorthanded goals
CURRENT TOMMIES AGAINST MICHIGAN TECH
- Jake Braccini – 1G-5A-6P
- Liam Malmquist – 3G-3A-6P
- Matthew Gleason – 2G-4A-6P
- Luc Laylin – 4G-1A-5P
- Grant Docter – 0G-3A-3P
- Ethan Gauer – 0G-3A-3P
- Carson Peters – 0G-3A-3P
- Ryan O'Neill – 0G-3A-3P
- Mason Poolman – 2G-1A-3P
- Lucas Wahlin – 2G-1A-3P
- Chase Cheslock – 0G-2A-2P
- Cole Miller – 1G-1A-2P
- Cooper Gay – 1G-0A-1P
- Aaron Trotter – 0G-1A-1P
- Quinton Pepper – 0G-1A-1P
- Tobias Abrahamsson – 0G-1A-1P
- Aaron Trotter – 2-5-0, 249 saves, 22 GA, 464 min .919 SV%, 2.84 GAA
- Jake Sibell – 2-1-0, 56 saves, 6 GA, 119 min, .903 SV%, 3.03 GAA
GOING STREAKING
- Lucas Wahlin – 3 game point streak (3 game goal streak)
- Liam Malmquist – 2 game point streak
- Matthew Gleason – 2 game point streak
- Caige Sterzer – 2 game point streak
- Ethan Elias – 2 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
- 3-2-0 record, +1 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.
- Swept their road series against Northern Michigan 3-0 and 4-3. Sibell recorded the first shutout of his career on Friday. The conference road sweep was just the Tommies' second in program history.
- Lucas Wahlin has had a tremendous month with four goals and eight points, both team leading.
- Aaron Trotter is 0-2-0 with a 3.51 goals against average and .873 save percentage
- Jake Sibell is 3-0-0 with a 1.34 goals against average and .961 save percentage
- The Toms are 2-9 on the power play and 11-14 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
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).
MOVIN' ON UP
With the Tommies' 3-2 win over the Mavericks earlier this season, 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 441)
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 22 wins shy of 21st all-time (Murray Armstrong).
A WIZARD AT WORK
Liam Malmquist is one of four players (Lucas Wahlin is also one) in the CCHA with at least a point per game of production (1.13). In total, the Edina native has a CCHA-leading 36 points in 32 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 36 points.
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.
- 441 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
- Lucas Wahlin (32) Mack Byers (2022-24; (31) and Cooper Gay (31) round out the top three in DI goals scored
- Wahlin is currently riding a three-game goal streak with four goals in his last three games. He scored one goal in each of the Tommies' wins against Northern Michigan last weekend.
- Lucas Wahlin (84), Liam Malmquist (63), and Ryan O'Neill (62) make up the top three in DI points
- Wahlin had a five-point weekend against the Wildcats. He has added 20 points in the 14 games of 2025.
- Liam Malmquist returned to form with four points against NMU after his longest scoreless drought of the season (six games) following his season-high six game point streak.
- O'Neill recorded a two-point game in the Tommies' 4-3 win with an assist and a power play goal. He too had not scored in six games.
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
