University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, January 30
St. Paul, Minn. / Lee & Penny Anderson Arena
7:07 p.m. CST
17-7-3, 14-3-2
4
vs
2
Michigan Tech
17-10-2, 12-5-2
1
2
3
F
Michigan Tech
0
1
1
2
St. Thomas (MN)
0
2
2
4
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Alex Gaffney scores a pair in 4-2 win over #19 Michigan Tech
1/30/2026 11:16:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Lucas Wahlin and Lucas Van Vliet each tallied their 30th point of the season
ST. PAUL, Minn. – All of the likely suspects came to play on Friday night at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena for the St. Thomas men's hockey team (17-7-3, 14-3-2) in its 4-2 win over #19 Michigan Tech (17-10-2, 12-5-2). Alex Gaffney scored two, Lucas Van Vliet tallied a pair of points, Lucas Wahlin and Nathan Pilling each added a point, and Aaron Trotter stopped 20 of 22 shots faced.
The Tommies peppered Tech with 17 shots in the first period but did not score. Trotter kept the game level at zero with 10 saves of his own in the opening frame. The Purple could not capitalize on a pair of power plays despite plenty of good chances.
Alex Gaffney got the Toms on the board at 3:51 from Ryan O'Neill after a defensive zone turnover from the Huskies. O'Neill had a shooting opportunity but opted for a pass to Gaffney who sent home his first goal since January 3. Tech tied the game for the final time at 14:19 and was prepared to head into the second intermission deadlocked at one.
Enter Lucas Van Vliet with under a minute to go in the period. Nathan Pilling chipped a Huskies' pass away up to Van Vliet on the defensive blue line. Lucas then passed it to himself off the boards and beat the defender to the puck in the neutral zone. The freshman had a two-on-one with Quinton Pepper to his left but opted to shoot over the left shoulder of the Husky goaltender at 19:14 for his 30th point of the season.
Gaffney scored in the following minute at 0:34 of the third period from Lucas Wahlin who tallied his 30th point of the season on the play. Jake Braccini provided the dagger on the power play at 13:26 from Van Vliet and Chase Cheslock.
Tech scored its second of the game at 19:30 on its 22nd shot. The Huskies were outshot 44-22 despite winning 29 of the game's 48 faceoffs.
Lucas Wahlin stretched his point streak to 11 games, Pilling extended his to nine games, and Van Vliet to eight games. St. Thomas extended its win streak to a nation-leading 11 games.
Up Next
The Tommies look for their 12th victory in a row tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m. against Michigan Tech.
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.
The Tommies peppered Tech with 17 shots in the first period but did not score. Trotter kept the game level at zero with 10 saves of his own in the opening frame. The Purple could not capitalize on a pair of power plays despite plenty of good chances.
Alex Gaffney got the Toms on the board at 3:51 from Ryan O'Neill after a defensive zone turnover from the Huskies. O'Neill had a shooting opportunity but opted for a pass to Gaffney who sent home his first goal since January 3. Tech tied the game for the final time at 14:19 and was prepared to head into the second intermission deadlocked at one.
Enter Lucas Van Vliet with under a minute to go in the period. Nathan Pilling chipped a Huskies' pass away up to Van Vliet on the defensive blue line. Lucas then passed it to himself off the boards and beat the defender to the puck in the neutral zone. The freshman had a two-on-one with Quinton Pepper to his left but opted to shoot over the left shoulder of the Husky goaltender at 19:14 for his 30th point of the season.
Gaffney scored in the following minute at 0:34 of the third period from Lucas Wahlin who tallied his 30th point of the season on the play. Jake Braccini provided the dagger on the power play at 13:26 from Van Vliet and Chase Cheslock.
Tech scored its second of the game at 19:30 on its 22nd shot. The Huskies were outshot 44-22 despite winning 29 of the game's 48 faceoffs.
Lucas Wahlin stretched his point streak to 11 games, Pilling extended his to nine games, and Van Vliet to eight games. St. Thomas extended its win streak to a nation-leading 11 games.
Up Next
The Tommies look for their 12th victory in a row tomorrow night at 7:07 p.m. against Michigan Tech.
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
MTU
UST
Shots
22
44
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
1
Penalty Mins
8
2
Faceoffs Won
29
19
Game Leaders
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
7
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's HockeyD
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
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