Saint John's squares off with Hamline for a home-and-home series this weekend, beginning with a 7:15 p.m. game Friday, Jan. 25, at the Vadnais Sports Center in Vadnais. The Johnnies return home for a 7 p.m. game Saturday, Jan. 26, at the National Hockey and Events Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (Both Games, Real Audio Player) | Live Stats (Friday) | Live Stats (Saturday)
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (2:12)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (8-6-3, 3-3-2 MIAC) returned from Moorhead with a pair of wins over Concordia (2-1 and 3-1) last weekend. Two second-period goals for SJU proved to be the difference Friday's 2-1 win. CC gained a 1-0 lead with 1:38 left in the opening period before junior Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) tied the game for SJU on the power play at 5:25 of the second. The goal, which was Johnson's second of the season, snapped the Johnnies' 0-for-20 streak in conference play. Freshman Alex Ach (Champlin, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a 2-1 lead with his first collegiate goal and point, unassisted, with 5:42 left in the second. SJU out-shot Concordia 28-21 in the game, 19-10 after the first period, and killed all three Cobber power plays.
SJU completed the sweep with a 3-1 win Saturday. Like Friday night's contest, Concordia took an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the opening period. Senior Tobias Linbro (Nykvarn, Sweden) tied the game at 1-1 for SJU with his fourth goal of the season 8:45 into the second period. Sophomore Nick Senta (Savage, Minn.) tallied what proved to be the game-winner, on the power play, at the 10:27 mark of the third period. Sophomore Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) sealed the victory for SJU with an empty-net goal, his sixth tally of the season. SJU out-shot the Cobbers 31-23 and converted one of its five power-play opportunities.
MIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman goaltender Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) returned to form in net after missing the Jan. 11-12 series against Gustavus Adolphus due to the flu and registered both wins in net, with a 1.00 GAA and a .955 save percentage (42 saves), in the Johnnies' sweep of Concordia. He was named the MIAC Men's Hockey Athlete of the Week Jan. 21 for his performance. Soley currently leads the MIAC (all games) with a .700 winning percentage (7-3-0 record) and is fourth in both GAA (2.22) and save percentage (.916).
4 POINTS: SJU hockey earned four points in the MIAC standings with the sweep and is now two points from the five-team playoffs, though it has two more conference games to play than three teams (St. Thomas, Bethel, Concordia) ahead of them. The Johnnies still have yet to face the other two schools, St. Olaf (Feb. 7-8) and Saint Mary's (Feb. 1-2).
THE BEST PENALTY KILL IS TO STAY OUT OF THE BOX: SJU was 10-for-10 on the penalty kill in the last five hockey games and is tied for the MIAC-lead at 95.5 percent (21-for-22) in eight conference games. The Johnnies boast a conference-low average of 6.8 penalty minutes per game in eight MIAC games so far this season. SJU's average of 9.1 penalty minutes per game, overall, is tied for the second-best out of 72 NCAA Division III teams.
A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (1-14-1, 1-7-2 MIAC) accumulated four points in the MIAC standings in its last four games. Hamline skated to a pair of ties, 1-1 and 2-2, against Augsburg last weekend. Sophomore defenseman Joe Rubbelke leads the Pipers in goals (6), assists (10) and points (16), while freshman forward Brandon Zurn is second in all three categories (5g/8a). Junior goaltender Matt Hemingway has a 1-8-2 record with a .891 save percentage and a 3.13 GAA in net. Hamline has scored only 32 goals in 19 games (1.7 gpg.) and has been shut out six times so far this season. The Pipers have four goals in 40 power-play chances (10.0 percent) in MIAC play and have allowed 11 power-play goals in 40 chances (72.5 percent penalty kill).
LAST YEAR: The Johnnies and Pipers split last season's series. Saint John's broke through a 1-1 tie with three goals in the final 6:32 of the game to defeat Hamline 4-1 last Jan. 26 in St. Cloud. The Johnnies outshot Hamline 39-15 in the game, including a 30-9 margin in the first two periods. Hamline found the scoreboard first, on its first shot of the game, with a goal from Tyler Johnson. Senior Jascha Pettit (Wadena, Minn.) tied the game with a power-play goal, his team-leading eighth of the season, 3:08 later. SJU held an 18-3 edge in shots at the first intermission. Following a scoreless second period, Phil Johnson tallied what proved to be the game-winner at the 13:28 mark of the third. Down by a goal and on the power play, Hamline pulled its goaltender to gain a two-man advantage with 3:01 left. The move backfired, however, as Conor Rooney '12 hit the empty-netter to put the game away for good. Sophomore Dave Mylrea (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal with four seconds left. SJU ended the contest 2-for-6 on the man advantage and successfully killed off all five of the Pipers' power plays.
Hamline scored five unanswered goals to defeat SJU 5-1 the following night in Vadnais Heights. Sophomore Wally Cossette (Maple Grove, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 7:40 into the game. Sam Leslie tied the game at 1-1 for Hamline at the 10:53 mark of the second, and Brian Arrigoni tallied a power-play goal with 1:59 left in the period. Down 2-1, senior Michael Palmiscno (East Grand Forks, Minn.) was called for a penalty with 6:47 left in the game. Nick Roscoe '12 was then called for a five-minute major for boarding nine seconds later. The combination proved deadly for SJU, as Danny Muck extended the Pipers' lead to 3-1 with a 5-on-3 power play goal at the 14:10 mark. Ryan McElhone made it 4-1 2:08 later and Jordan VanGilder added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds remaining in the contest. Hamline entered Friday's game at 14.9 percent on the power-play, thanks to a 0-for-5 showing Thursday night, but went 3-for-5 on the home ice. The Johnnies, meanwhile, were just 1-for-6 on the man advantage, which included a measly 14-second power play at the end of the game.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 41-18-4 against Hamline since the 1984-85 season, but just 3-8-1 in the last 12 meetings.
