The SJU hockey team plays host to No. 10 Hamline for a 7 p.m. game tonight at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The Johnnies then travel to face the Pipers for a 7:15 p.m. contest this Saturday, Feb. 6, at Drake Arena in St. Paul. – Listen Live (Both Games) | Live Stats (Thursday) | Live Stats (Saturday)
Preview Video:
-Head Coach Doug Schueller (2:31)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (6-9-4, 2-6-2 MIAC) earned three points against Concordia-Moorhead last weekend, earning a 7-2 win on Saturday and a 1-1 tie on Sunday. Thirteen of SJU's 18 skaters recorded a point in the 7-2 victory. The Johnnies peppered Cobber goaltender Jacob Vatnsdal, who entered the contest with a 2.94 GAA and a .910 save percentage, for seven goals on 28 shots. SJU jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead thanks to goals from senior Chris Murray (Chanhassen, Minn.), sophomore Nick Roscoe (Eau Claire, Wis.), sophomore Grant Ellena (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and senior Dylan Decker (Park City, Utah). Roscoe's tally was the first of his career. Nick Thielen cut the deficit to 4-1 with his 10th goal of the season in the second period for Concordia before the Johnnies answered with three straight goals in the third frame. Sophomore Conor Rooney (Stillwater, Minn.) scored the first of two goals on the night 3:11 into the period, while junior James Olmscheid (St. Cloud, Minn.) added his first career goal a minute later. Murray (1g/2a) and freshman Jascha Pettit (three assists; Wadena, Minn.) led SJU with three points apiece. Senior Stu Van Ess (Kewaskum, Wis.) had a stellar night in goal, stopping 37 of the 39 shots he faced, including 15 saves on the power play.
Concordia took an early 1-0 lead thanks to a power-play goal from Marc Harrie 6:25 into Sunday's game. Ellena tied it at 1-1 with his sixth goal of the season nine minutes later. Senior Karl Gilbert (Hermantown, Minn.) and junior Mike Wallgren (Oakdale, Minn.) assisted on the scoring play for SJU. The Johnnies out-shot Concordia 20-18 the rest of the way, but were 0-for-4 on the power play. Van Ess put together another strong performance in net with 25 saves. He was named the MIAC Men's Hockey Co-Player of the Week for his weekend performance. Van Ess currently leads the MIAC (conference games only) in both save percentage (.929) and GAA (1.94). He has a 4-5-3 career record with a .910 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA in 11 career starts in net.
A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (12-4-3, 7-2-1 MIAC) is coming off a split with Augsburg last weekend. The Auggies took a 4-0 lead in Friday's game before the Pipers stormed back to tie it at 4-4, including three goals in the third period. Augsburg prevailed, however, thanks to a goal 1:10 into overtime. The skate was on the other foot Saturday, however, as Augsburg scored two unanswered goals to tie the game at 2-2, only to surrender the game-winner 6:10 into the final period. Sophomore forward Brian Arrigoni, the MIAC's Co-Player of the Week, tallied four points (3g/1a) on the weekend. Senior forward Kyle Kurr leads the Pipers with 10 goals, including seven on the power play, while junior forward Spencer Anderson follows with eight. Junior defenseman Chris Berenguer, a 2008-09 All-American, leads the Pipers with 23 points (5g/18a). Sophomore netminder Beau Christian has a 12-3-2 record with a 2.34 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
LAST YEAR'S SERIES: The Johnnies and Pipers split last season's series with the visiting team winning each contest; SJU by a 3-2 decision, while Hamline won, 4-1. SJU was a combined 1-for-14 on the power play on the weekend. In the 3-2 victory in St. Paul, the Johnnies took a 1-0 lead 8:06 into the game with a goal from Ellena. Wallgren and sophomore Jeff Lesmeister (Anoka, Minn.) assisted on the scoring play for SJU. The Pipers tied the game at the 10:10 mark of the second with a goal from Dustin Fulton before the Johnnies regained the lead six minutes later on a power-play goal from sophomore defenseman Brent Brodersen (Shakopee, Minn.). Jason Johannes increased SJU's lead to 3-1 lead five minutes into the third period. Brodersen and Murray were credited with the assists. The Pipers' Andrew Birkholz made it a one-goal game with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. The Johnnies were just 1-for-8 on the power play, but managed to kill of all three of Hamline's three power-play opportunities.
The 4-1 loss was a different story. It looked as though SJU would take a 1-0 lead near the 10-minute mark of the opening period when senior Gabriel Harren (Warroad, Minn.) snuck the puck underneath Christian. The goal judge, however, overruled the official and waved off the goal. Chris Berenguer tallied the first of his two power-play goals on the afternoon two minutes later to give the Pipers a 1-0 lead. Jared Hummel increased the lead to 2-0 with another power-play tally at the 17:40 mark of the first, as the Pipers were two of three with the man advantage in the period. Following a scoreless second, Berenguer scored his second power-play goal of the game 2:33 into the third. The Johnnies were able to score a goal at the 7:06 mark. Dustin Fulton then added an empty-net goal with 58 second remaining to end the scoring at 4-1. Christian made 29 stops for Hamline. The Pipers ended the day 3-for-7 on the power play, while the Johnnies were 0-for-6 with the man advantage, including a 5-on-3 power play just 48 seconds into the game.
