Saint John's ends the fall semester with a pair of non-conference games this week, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against St. Thomas on Thursday, Dec. 13. The Johnnies then host the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.), ranked No. 13 nationally, for Youth Hockey Day, a 2 p.m. puck-drop, on Saturday, Dec. 15. Both games will be held at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, Thursday) | Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, Saturday) | Live Stats (Saturday only)
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (1:19)
YOUTH HOCKEY DAY: All area youth hockey players wearing his or her jersey, or youth students wearing a shirt with their school's name on it, gains free admittance. Youth students can also get in free if they print off the flier that was sent to their school. An open skate with the Johnnies is also scheduled following Saturday's game.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-4-1, 1-3-0 MIAC) extended its winning streak to three games with a weekend sweep, 5-2 and 5-4 in overtime, at Concordia (Wis.) Dec. 7-8. The visitors broke a 1-1 tie with three goals in the second period to earn a 5-2 win Friday night. The game was the first for SJU in nearly three weeks (Nov. 17). Junior Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) put SJU on the scoreboard first with his fifth career goal at the 12:27 mark of the opening period. The Falcons tied it 2:24 later before sophomore Jobe Peterson (St. Cloud, Minn.) gave SJU a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the season, off a rebound of classmate Zach Knight's (Bloomington, Minn.) shot on goal, 6:13 into the second frame. Senior Jascha Pettit (Wadena, Minn.) increased the Johnnies' lead to 3-1 with a clean slap shot that beat Concordia goaltender Jake Hebda with 8:01 left. Pettit added another, his third of the season, 2:54 later with assists going to sophomore John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) and junior Justin Hochsprung (Alexandria, Minn.). Sophomore Dave Mylrea (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) ended the scoring for both teams, and SJU's 0-for-6 skid on the power play in the game, with his first goal of the season at the 14:10 mark of the third. Senior J.D. Wells (Anoka, Minn.) made 20 saves to earn his first win of the season (1-2-0), in his first start between the pipes in nearly a month (Nov. 8 vs. St. Thomas).
SJU saw its 4-1 third-period lead dissolve before earning a 5-4 win in overtime in the series finale. The Johnnies broke a 1-1 tie with three consecutive goals to gain a 4-1 lead before the Falcons rattled off three third-period goals, including the game-tying goal with six seconds remaining. A power play and extra attacker gave CUW a 6-on-4 advantage on the ice with 47 seconds left. Junior Jason Johnson's (Duluth, Minn.) first goal of the season, 1:27 into overtime, gave SJU the victory. Concordia found the scoreboard first 9:49 into the game before Pettit tied it with his fourth goal of the season 3:56 later. Haeg gave SJU a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded goal and sophomore Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) added a power-play tally 3:17 later. He added his second goal of the game 2:07 into the third. The Falcons cut their deficit to two goals 5:42 after Johnson's tally and added a pair of late power-play goals (16:36 and 19:54). Freshman Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) made 17 saves to improve to 3-2-0 on the season for SJU.
A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas (7-5-1, 5-1-0 MIAC) comes to town following a 2-0 non-conference shutout of Hamline Dec. 8. Senior Riley Horgan leads the team with eight points, seven of which are assists. Each of the team's seven game-winning goals have been scored by a different player. Sophomore Drew Fielding (4-3-1, .933, 1.62 GAA) and senior Tyrone Simcoe (3-2-0, .937, 1.37 GAA) have been equally impressive in net as UST has allowed only five power-play goals in 46 chances (89.1 percent).
LAST MONTH: The Johnnies dropped both games, 4-2 and 3-0, to nationally-ranked St. Thomas Nov. 8-9. UST made the most of its opportunities in a 4-2 win Nov. 8 in St. Cloud. SJU entered the game with a 30.8-percent conversion rate (4-for-13) on the power play, but mustered only four shots on goal in a 0-for-4 showing (8:47 duration) in the game. The Johnnies out-shot UST 31-28 and held a 36-28 advantage in faceoffs. St. Thomas jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a goal in the first period and a pair of goals, 53 seconds apart, in the second. Sophomore Wally Cossette (Maple Grove, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 3-1 with his first goal of the season with 17 seconds left in the second frame. Peterson ended the scoring with 2:02 remaining in regulation, his first collegiate goal. Wells made 14 saves before being relieved by Soley with 7:19 left in the second period. Soley made 10 stops the rest of the way.
The Tommies turned an SJU turnover into a first-period goal and added two empty-net goals in the third to tally a 3-0 shutout in the return game Nov. 9 in Mendota Heights. With the Johnnies possessing the puck in their own end, a pass across the faceoff circles went off a skate directly to a Tommie, who was all alone in front. Soley made 19 saves in the loss. SJU was 0-for-3 on the power play to finish 0-for-7 in the two-game series. Shots were even at 18 apiece before the Tommies claimed the game's final four shots, including the two empty-net goals.
A LOOK AT THE RAIDERS: The Milwaukee School of Engineering (8-3-1, 6-3-1 MCHA) is 5-0-1 in its last six games and visits Hamline Friday, Dec. 14, prior to taking on the Johnnies Saturday. The Raiders recently moved up one spot to No. 13 in the latest USCHO.com national rankings released Dec. 10. Senior Bradley Tierney is the team's leader in both assists (9) and points (15), while classmate Jordan Keizer touts seven goals and 12 points. Freshman Nick Kohn has been the goaltender of record in all 12 games this season and boasts a 2.08 GAA and .926 save percentage.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: MSOE's Todd Krupa tallied a rebound goal on a delayed penalty 1:26 into overtime to give then-No. 11 Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) a 3-2 win over SJU last Dec. 9 at the MAC. The Raiders were awarded the extra attacker thanks to a controversial tripping call on Peterson, who checked a MSOE skater 10 feet inside the blueline. The 5-foot-8 freshman crouched before the check and lifted the much larger opponent off his feet to the ice. West Bauman gave MSOE a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 8:42 into the game. Jason Johnson tied the game at 1-1 with his fourth goal of the season 2:45 into the second. Jordan Keizer gave the lead back to the visitors with a shorthanded (5-on-3) breakaway goal less than four minutes later. Sophomore John Carroll (Eagan, Minn.) tied the game with his first collegiate goal 9:22 into the third period. The Johnnies outshot MSOE 26-20 in the game, but were 0-for-5 on the power play. SJU was unable to convert on the 1:17 5-on-3 power play in the second period; the same power play that relinquished the shorthanded breakaway.
