University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, January 17
St. Paul, Minn. / Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
7:07 p.m. CST
14-7-3, 11-3-2
3
vs
2
Bemidji State
9-12-3, 7-6-3
1
2
3
F
Bemidji St.
1
0
1
2
St. Thomas (MN)
0
1
2
3
Photo by: Maddie Kranz
Men’s Hockey grits out win for third straight conference sweep
1/18/2026 1:01:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Pilling scores third shorthanded goal of season & Trotter stopped 30 shots
ST. PAUL, Minn. – #19 St. Thomas men's hockey (14-7-3, 11-3-2) spent 16:33 on the penalty kill against Bemidji State (9-12-3, 7-6-3) and still came away with its eighth consecutive victory to gain sole possession of first place in the CCHA on Saturday night at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The Toms came from behind down 1-0 and gritted out a 3-2 victory.
Lucas Wahlin, Nathan Pilling, and Lucas Van Vliet all scored for the Purple. Chase Cheslock added a pair of assists to bring his team-leading total up to 21. Aaron Trotter got his fourth win of the season with 30 saves on 32 shots.
The Toms were whistled for eight penalties: two in the first, three in the second, and three in the third. Van Vliet earned his first career major penalty in the final frame. The Beavers were 1-10 on the power play and scored only during that Van Vliet major. St. Thomas held the Beavers to one goal on 15 power plays between the two games.
Bemidji State scored first at 3:13. Their only lead of the weekend lasted just over one period until Lucas Wahlin scored his second of the series at 4:44 from Ryan O'Neill and Caige Sterzer.
St. Thomas killed off all three of their penalties in the second period and the scored its 10th shorthanded goal of the season at 1:05 in the third. Nathan Pilling matched Alex Gaffney's nation-leading mark with his third "shorty". Wahlin and Cheslock each assisted on the play.
Lucas Van Vliet completed the scoring category bingo for the Tommies with a power play tally at 3:04 from Cheslock and Charlie Schoen.
Aaron Trotter stopped 10 pucks in the first, 10 in the second, and 10 in the third and allowed just a pair of goals despite the lengthy spans of shorthanded play.
The Tommies completed their first ever sweep of Bemidji State and doubled their all-time win total against the Beavers with a 5-1 win on Friday and 3-2 victory on Saturday.
Up Next
St. Thomas hits the road for a series with the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday, January 23 at 6:07 p.m. CST at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and on Saturday the 24th at 5:07 p.m. at Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
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.
Lucas Wahlin, Nathan Pilling, and Lucas Van Vliet all scored for the Purple. Chase Cheslock added a pair of assists to bring his team-leading total up to 21. Aaron Trotter got his fourth win of the season with 30 saves on 32 shots.
The Toms were whistled for eight penalties: two in the first, three in the second, and three in the third. Van Vliet earned his first career major penalty in the final frame. The Beavers were 1-10 on the power play and scored only during that Van Vliet major. St. Thomas held the Beavers to one goal on 15 power plays between the two games.
Bemidji State scored first at 3:13. Their only lead of the weekend lasted just over one period until Lucas Wahlin scored his second of the series at 4:44 from Ryan O'Neill and Caige Sterzer.
St. Thomas killed off all three of their penalties in the second period and the scored its 10th shorthanded goal of the season at 1:05 in the third. Nathan Pilling matched Alex Gaffney's nation-leading mark with his third "shorty". Wahlin and Cheslock each assisted on the play.
Lucas Van Vliet completed the scoring category bingo for the Tommies with a power play tally at 3:04 from Cheslock and Charlie Schoen.
Aaron Trotter stopped 10 pucks in the first, 10 in the second, and 10 in the third and allowed just a pair of goals despite the lengthy spans of shorthanded play.
The Tommies completed their first ever sweep of Bemidji State and doubled their all-time win total against the Beavers with a 5-1 win on Friday and 3-2 victory on Saturday.
Up Next
St. Thomas hits the road for a series with the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday, January 23 at 6:07 p.m. CST at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and on Saturday the 24th at 5:07 p.m. at Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the University of St. Thomas Men's Hockey team, follow along on Instagram and Twitter at @TommieMHockey. Follow the fun @tommiesports on TikTok.
Team Stats
BSU
UST
Shots
32
21
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
1
Penalties
6
8
Penalty Mins
12
19
Faceoffs Won
26
35
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
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