The nationally-ranked Johnnie hockey team begins its 2013-14 season with a pair of non-conference games as part of the annual MIAC Showcase against Hamline and Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 1 (8 p.m.) and Nov. 2 (5:30 p.m.), respectively, at Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine. – Listen Live (Friday) | Listen Live (Saturday) | Live Stats | Live Video (Friday) | Showcase Website
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (0:39)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The Saint John's University hockey team was pretty good at keeping the puck out of its net last season.
During the 2012-13 season, the Johnnies finished eighth in the nation in NCAA Division III scoring defense, allowing just 2.07 goals per game. In Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, the Johnnies allowed 27 goals in 16 conference games (1.69 gapg.).
It was even tougher for the opponents to score on the power play. SJU posted an overall penalty-kill rate at 86.9 percent (86-for-99), which was good for seventh in Division III. The Johnnies were even stingier in MIAC play, allowing only two power-play goals (50-for-52). In fact, SJU scored more goals, five shorthanded, than it allowed on the penalty kill in conference play.
How does that translate into the 2013-14 season? The Johnnies should be difficult to score against with the return of All-American goaltender Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.), who earned MIAC Co-Player of the Year honors as a freshman last season, and all eight of their top defensemen.
Offensively, the Johnnies return their top three scorers as well as eight of the 10 players who registered 10 points or more for a team that posted a 9-4-3 record (16-8-4 overall) to earn its first MIAC regular-season title since 2005 (eighth overall) and later earned its sixth appearance at the NCAA Division III Tournament with its first MIAC Playoff Championship since 2003 (fifth overall). SJU also returns all eight of its All-MIAC honorees from last season.
Here's a look at the Johnnies, by position:
FORWARDS
As mentioned above, eight of the 10 Johnnies that registered 10 points or more last season return in 2013-14, including leading scorer John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.). A two-time All-MIAC selection, Haeg posted 13 points (6g/7a) in conference play and led the team for the second consecutive season in scoring with 30 points (11g/19a) overall, including nine (1g/8a) on the power play.
Senior Justin Hochsprung (Alexandria, Minn.) totaled 11 points (7g/4a) in the season's final six games, including a hand in all five game-winning goals (3g/2a), and finished second on the team with 24 points (11g/13a). He led SJU with 17 points (9g/8a) and a plus/minus rating of +14 in 15 conference games to earn All-MIAC honors last winter.
Junior Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) posted 15 points (7g/8a), all of which were recorded in SJU's final nine conference games (7-1-1 record), to earn All-MIAC distinction last season. He led the team with 12 goals, including five on the power play, and finished third with 21 points.
Seniors Jason Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) and Josh Gross (Maple Grove, Minn.) also return for SJU this season. Johnson finished sixth on the team with 13 points (8g/5a) and tied with Hochsprung for the team-lead with three game-winning goals. Gross, meanwhile, added 11 points (2g/9a) in 16 games.
DEFENSEMEN
The Johnnies' roster depth is the deepest on the blue line as all eight defensemen, including four that were named All-MIAC honorable mention last season, return. The eight combined for 57 points (15g/42a) and a plus/minus rating of +46.
Senior Axel Ramsgard (Gothenburg, Sweden) finished seventh on the team, and first among SJU defensemen, with 13 points (2g/11a) and a plus/minus rating of +16 from the blue line last season. Juniors Wally Cossette (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Nick Senta (Savage, Minn.) added 10 points apiece, while ever-steady senior Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) totaled nine (3g/6a). Senta (4g/6a) finished second on the team with three power-play goals.
The other four defensemen, juniors Dave Mylrea (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Nick Vatnsdal (Independence, Minn.), and sophomores Mac Campbell (Roseville, Minn.) and Joe Freemark (Lakeville, Minn.), combined for 15 points (3g/12a) last winter.
GOALTENDING
Soley was named to the 2013 CCM Division III All-America West Region second team, as selected by members of the American Hockey Coaches' Association (AHCA), and became the first known freshman to be named the MIAC Player of the Year, the Johnnies' fourth all-time, last winter.
He led the MIAC with a 1.33 GAA, 94.5 save percentage and a 73.1 winning percentage (9-3-1 record) in 14 conference games en route to All-MIAC first-team and All-Rookie team honors. Soley ended the season with a 15-5-1 record, 1.81 GAA and a 92.8 save percentage (501 saves) overall, including a 1.37 GAA, 10-2-1 record with two shutouts and a 94.2 save percentage (291 saves) in his last 13 starts between the pipes. His 15 wins overall were a school record for a freshman, surpassing Mark Ketzner's total of 12 (12-8-1 record) set during the 1993-94 season.
A transfer from Division I Wisconsin, senior Mitch Thompson (Onalaska, Wis.) posted a 0-1-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and a .893 save percentage in three games for SJU last season.
DIVISION I CONNECTIONS
The 2013-14 Johnnies include a trio of newcomers that came to Collegeville with ties to the Division I level. Sophomore forward Andrew Commers (Edina, Minn.) appeared in five games for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) last season following a successful high-school career at St. Thomas Academy. Sophomore forward Tyson Fulton (Champlin, Minn.), meanwhile, played three games for Union (N.Y.) in 2011-12 but missed all of the 2012-13 campaign due to injury. He played his high-school hockey at Breck before spending one year with Waterloo of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Freshman defenseman Brady Riesgraf (Chaska, Minn.) graduated from Holy Family Catholic High School and spent two years at the junior-hockey level between Fargo (USHL) and Coulee Region of the North American Hockey League. He originally committed to Division I Bemidji State but changed his mind this summer and came to SJU.
MIAC CHANGES
Last season, the NCAA officially added a shootout to its rule book as a way to settle overtime ties, and the MIAC men will take advantage of that opportunity as the first conference in NCAA Division III to adopt the shootout for conference games in 2013-14. In addition, the MIAC men's standings will change to a three-point system, with three points awarded for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and no points for a regulation loss. Under the old points system - two points to the winner or one apiece in a tie - the parity in the MIAC was exemplified. By moving to a three-point system, and adding the shootout, the MIAC coaches are hoping the championship and playoff seeds will have a better chance to be decided on the ice, rather than in complicated tie-breaking scenarios. The coaches proposed and adopted the changes, which were then approved by the MIAC Athletic Directors and Faculty Athletic Representatives.
SCHEDULE
The Johnnies begin the 2013-14 season with a pair of non-conference games as part of the annual MIAC Showcase this weekend and return to Eau Claire, Wis., for a rematch of last year's NCAA-playoff quarterfinal game with Wisconsin-Eau Claire Nov. 9. SJU's home opener is scheduled for Nov. 16 against St. Olaf, the first of 11 home games at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC) in St. Cloud, Minn. The annual "Pack the MAC" night is scheduled for Dec. 13 against St. Scholastica at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. The regular-season and home finale is scheduled for Feb. 22 against last year's co-MIAC regular-season champion, St. Thomas at the HBNHC.
