University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 28
Bemidji, Minn. / Sanford Center
6:07 p.m. CST
18-11-5, 15-7-4
2
at
2
Bemidji State
13-17-4, 11-11-4
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
St. Thomas (MN)
1
0
1
0
0
2
Bemidji St.
0
2
0
0
0
2
Photo by: Brent Cizek
Men’s Hockey earns second place in CCHA with shootout win in Bemidji
2/28/2026 9:42:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Caige Sterzer’s third period goal locked up home ice in the CCHA quarterfinals
BEMIDJI, Minn. – The St. Thomas Men's Hockey team (18-11-5, 15-7-4) began the night with a chance to win the MacNaughton Cup or lose out on hosting a round of the playoffs. At any given point during their 2-2 shootout win over Bemidji State (13-17-4, 11-11-4) every possibility remained on the table.
If not for Caige Sterzer's third period goal at 2:35 from Attila Lippai and Chase Cheslock, the Tommies could have been heading down to Bowling Green after a fifth-place finish in the conference. They will now host Lake Superior State next weekend at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena after a second-place finish in the regular season.
Nathan Pilling's late first period power play goal from Alex Gaffney and Lucas Wahlin at 17:14 opened the possibility of a share of the conference championship but the Beavers gritted their way back to play spoiler.
Carsen Musser played tremendously in net for the Purple with 31 saves on 33 shots and three stops in the shootout to earn both the second point and second place. Bemidji got each of their goals in the second period at 13:27 and 19:03 (on the power play).
Bemidji State won the shots on goal battle 33-32. Both sides were 1-2 on the power play, the Tommies had a full two minutes of 4-on-3 during the overtime but could not capitalize.
Up Next
The Tommies host the Lake Superior State Lakers (11-20-3, 14-8-4) in the CCHA quarterfinals at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, if necessary, March 6-8.
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.
If not for Caige Sterzer's third period goal at 2:35 from Attila Lippai and Chase Cheslock, the Tommies could have been heading down to Bowling Green after a fifth-place finish in the conference. They will now host Lake Superior State next weekend at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena after a second-place finish in the regular season.
Nathan Pilling's late first period power play goal from Alex Gaffney and Lucas Wahlin at 17:14 opened the possibility of a share of the conference championship but the Beavers gritted their way back to play spoiler.
Carsen Musser played tremendously in net for the Purple with 31 saves on 33 shots and three stops in the shootout to earn both the second point and second place. Bemidji got each of their goals in the second period at 13:27 and 19:03 (on the power play).
Bemidji State won the shots on goal battle 33-32. Both sides were 1-2 on the power play, the Tommies had a full two minutes of 4-on-3 during the overtime but could not capitalize.
Up Next
The Tommies host the Lake Superior State Lakers (11-20-3, 14-8-4) in the CCHA quarterfinals at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, if necessary, March 6-8.
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
UST
BSU
Shots
29
30
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
2
Penalty Mins
4
4
Faceoffs Won
20
35
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
7
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
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