The St. Thomas men’s hockey team got back to its winning ways Saturday night at Bemidji State, though the Tommies did miss out on a CCHA regular-season title.
One night after being upended by the Beavers, No. 17 ranked St. Thomas claimed a come-from-behind shootout victory after playing the Beavers to a 2-2 draw through three periods and an overtime session.
Nathan Pilling got the game off the ground with a power play goal at 17:14 of the first period to put visiting UST up 1-0 heading into the middle frame.
However, the Beavers struck back for a pair of goals in the second — an even-strength score at 13:27, and a power-play strike at 19:03 — to take a 2-1 edge into the third.
The Tommies returned fire, knotting the score at 2-2 as Caige Sterzer scored the lone goal of the period at 2:35 to send the game into overtime.
After a scoreless extra session, Lucas Wahlin logged the only goal of the shootout round to give the victory to St. Thomas.
Tommies goaltender Carsen Musser, who allowed three goals on 21 shots Friday night, topped his 18-save total from that game before the second intermission on Saturday en route to 28-save performance.
While the shootout win did clinch home-ice advantage for the CCHA’s Mason Cup quarterfinals, St. Thomas missed out on claiming the conference’s regular-season title by a single point. No. 18 Minnesota State leapfrogged into the top spot in the final CCHA standings on the strength of a 3-0 victory against Northern Michigan on Saturday, hopping over No. 14 Augustana (idle), No. 16 Michigan Tech (a 4-3 OT loss to Bowling Green), and the Tommies.
St. Thomas claimed the No. 2 seed for the Mason Cup, finishing near the front of a five-team scrum that saw just two points separating No. 1 and No. 5. The Tommies will face seventh-seeded Lake Superior State in the opening game. Game time is TBD, with the Mason Cup quarterfinal round slated to be played this coming Friday through Sunday.
Related Articles
College basketball: St. Thomas men, women wrap regular season
Women’s hockey: Gophers win, Tommies lose in WCHA playoffs
Men’s basketball: Gophers upset UCLA
Women’s basketball: Win streak dead, Gophers vow to focus on what’s next
Men’s basketball: Tommies wallop Bison
Leave a Reply