University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, March 6
St. Paul, Minn.
7:07 p.m. CST
19-11-5
4
vs
3
Lake Superior State
11-21-3
1
2
3
OT 1
F
Lake Superior St.
0
3
0
0
3
St. Thomas (MN)
2
0
1
1
4
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Men’s Hockey earns overtime victory in Mason Cup Quarterfinals
3/6/2026 11:43:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Chase Cheslock scored the game-winning goal in Tommies’ first overtime playoff game
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Thomas men's hockey team (19-11-5) earned a comeback victory in a turbulent start to the 2026 Mason Cup Playoffs. The Tommies led by two, trailed by one, and ultimately came away with the victory, 4-3 on Chase Cheslock's first goal of the season.
The Tommies got the home crowd jumping with two goals in the first period. Caige Sterzer scored his second goal in as many games at 1:12 on a redirection from Jake Braccini's long-distance shot. Cole Miller earned the secondary assist on the game's opening tally. St. Thomas' top scoring line teamed up for a goal at 11:51, Ryan O'Neill from Alex Gaffney.
Lake Superior State's Hadley Hudak received a major penalty and game misconduct at 13:38 to open an opportunity for the Tommie power play. An opportunity that went uncapitalized by the Purple and swayed momentum back toward the Lakers before the first intermission.
The visitors took advantage of that swing (and a power play of their own) with three goals in the second period. They tallied scores at 6:04 on the power play, 14:04, and 18:01 to take the lead into the third.
St. Thomas outshot Lake State 14-5 in the third period but could only get one by Rorke Applebee at 11:50. Ryan O'Neill struck again with some help from his linemates. Gaffney fought the puck off the wall and backhanded a spinning pass to O'Neill who shot it by a Lucas Wahlin-screened Applebee to tie the contest.
Overtime was spent on Lake State's side of the ice with five shots on goal for the Tommies to one for the Lakers in just under eight minutes. Chase Cheslock took a rebounded shot from Dylan Godbout and flung it toward the goal from the point. The Tommies' team leader in assists found his first goal of the season to win game one at 7:51 from Godbout and Caige Sterzer.
The Toms won the shots-on-goal battle 40-25 and won 53.2% of faceoffs (33-29). Ryan O'Neill earned his first career multi-goal game, Caige Sterzer had his third career multi-point game, and Gaffney recorded his fifth two assist game of the season. Carsen Musser got his ninth win in net with 22 saves on 25 shots.
Up Next
The Tommies host the Lake Superior State Lakers (11-21-3) for CCHA quarterfinal game two at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Saturday, March 7 at 7:07 pm.
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 got the home crowd jumping with two goals in the first period. Caige Sterzer scored his second goal in as many games at 1:12 on a redirection from Jake Braccini's long-distance shot. Cole Miller earned the secondary assist on the game's opening tally. St. Thomas' top scoring line teamed up for a goal at 11:51, Ryan O'Neill from Alex Gaffney.
Lake Superior State's Hadley Hudak received a major penalty and game misconduct at 13:38 to open an opportunity for the Tommie power play. An opportunity that went uncapitalized by the Purple and swayed momentum back toward the Lakers before the first intermission.
The visitors took advantage of that swing (and a power play of their own) with three goals in the second period. They tallied scores at 6:04 on the power play, 14:04, and 18:01 to take the lead into the third.
St. Thomas outshot Lake State 14-5 in the third period but could only get one by Rorke Applebee at 11:50. Ryan O'Neill struck again with some help from his linemates. Gaffney fought the puck off the wall and backhanded a spinning pass to O'Neill who shot it by a Lucas Wahlin-screened Applebee to tie the contest.
Overtime was spent on Lake State's side of the ice with five shots on goal for the Tommies to one for the Lakers in just under eight minutes. Chase Cheslock took a rebounded shot from Dylan Godbout and flung it toward the goal from the point. The Tommies' team leader in assists found his first goal of the season to win game one at 7:51 from Godbout and Caige Sterzer.
The Toms won the shots-on-goal battle 40-25 and won 53.2% of faceoffs (33-29). Ryan O'Neill earned his first career multi-goal game, Caige Sterzer had his third career multi-point game, and Gaffney recorded his fifth two assist game of the season. Carsen Musser got his ninth win in net with 22 saves on 25 shots.
Up Next
The Tommies host the Lake Superior State Lakers (11-21-3) for CCHA quarterfinal game two at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Saturday, March 7 at 7:07 pm.
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
LSS
UST
Shots
25
40
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
1
Penalty Mins
17
2
Faceoffs Won
29
33
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
2
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's HockeyD
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
/ Men's Hockey
D
/ Men's Hockey
G
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's HockeyF
/ Men's Hockey
F
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