The Johnnie hockey team opens conference play with a home-and-home series against St. Olaf this weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop Friday, Nov. 15, at Northfield Ice Arena. SJU plays host to the Oles for its home opener, as well as Youth Hockey Night, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (Friday) | Listen Live (Saturday) | Live Stats (Friday) | Live Stats (Saturday) | Live Video (Saturday)
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (1:55)
YOUTH HOCKEY NIGHT: All area youth hockey players wearing his or her jersey gains free admittance to Saturday night's home opener. Youth students can also get in free if they bring a canned item for the local food shelf. An open skate with the Johnnies is also scheduled following the game.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-2 overall) split last weekend's pair of non-conference games, earning a 3-1 win at Wisconsin-Superior Nov. 8 before falling at top-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire by the same 3-1 score. The Johnnies controlled the Friday night's game with a 30-16 shot advantage, including a 23-12 edge through the first two periods. Superior gained a 1-0 lead 4:11 into the game before sophomore Tyson Fulton (Champlin, Minn.) tied the game at the 9:59 mark of the first period with his first goal as a Johnnie. Junior John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 8:38 into the second period. Freshman Dan McNamara (Grand Rapids, Mich.) padded the Johnnies' lead with 6:16 remaining for his first collegiate goal. Sophomore goaltender Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) made 15 saves in the win.
SJU suffered a hard-fought 3-1 loss the following night against the defending NCAA Division III champions. The Johnnies out-shot the Blugolds by a 35-28 margin, but were 0-for-4 on the power play and allowed two goals on special teams. Eau Claire went up 1-0 with a power-play goal from David Donnellan, a Division I transfer from Western Michigan, with 5:20 left in the first period. Daniel Olszewski, a Division I transfer from Denver, added a shorthanded goal 6:20 into the second period. Senior Josh Gross (Maple Grove, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 2-1 with his first goal of the season on a delayed penalty with 5:53 left in the third period. Ross Andersen skated past the SJU defense into a one-and-one and ended the scoring for UWEC with 51 seconds remaining. Soley made 25 saves for SJU in the loss, his first of the season.
A MUCH-NEEDED WIN: Friday's win was just SJU's second in the last 19 meetings (2-16-1 record) against Superior. Coincidentally, the only other Johnnie win during the previous 18-game span was a 4-1 decision on Jan. 14, 2006, in Superior.
BALANCED SCORING: Fifteen different Johnnies have a point through four hockey games this season, including eight different goal scorers.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: SJU fell out of the top 15 in the USCHO.com poll but received votes in both national polls (D3hockey.com) this week. The Johnnies were ranked No. 15 last week before going 1-1 on the weekend with a 3-1 loss at top-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (0-4 overall) opened its season with a pair of close games against Augsburg (3-1) and Saint Mary's (3-2), only to suffer two lop-sided losses in Wisconsin against Eau Claire (5-2) and Stevens Point (8-1) last weekend. Senior Dan Cecka, a transfer from Wisconsin-Stout, is the only Ole with more than one point (3g/1a), as STO has been out-scored by a 19-6 margin so far this season. Senior Henrik Wood and junior Steve Papciak have two starts apiece and have combined for a 4.75 GAA and a .857 save percentage in net. Like SJU, STO has struggled on the man advantage with only one power-play goal in 19 chances (5.3 percent).
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: Saint John's overpowered MIAC-leading St. Olaf in both meetings last year to the tune of 4-2 and 4-0; SJU's first season sweep of the Oles since the 2004-05 season (ending a 3-12-1 skid in the series). SJU erased a 2-1 deficit with three even-strength goals in the third period to earn a 4-2 win in the first matchup in St. Cloud. The Johnnies out-shot the Oles 34-18 in the game, including a 24-8 advantage over the final two periods. STO took advantage of an SJU penalty, the only infraction called on the evening, 20 seconds into the game. The power-play goal was just the second allowed by SJU in 43 chances during 12 MIAC games. The goal also snapped the Johnnies' 30-for-30 showing on the penalty kill in their previous nine games. Junior Dave Mylrea (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tied the game with his second goal of the season just 3:01 later on the Johnnies' first shot attempt of the game. The Johnnies posted an 11-3 advantage in shots during the second period but could not get the puck past Wood, who entered the game with a 1.50 GAA and a .951 save percentage in conference play. That is, until the third period. Jascha Pettit '13 tied the game at 2-2 with his seventh goal of the season, and 30th of this career, 6:56 into the final frame. Senior Jason Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) tallied what proved to be the game-winner, his fifth goal of the season, 1:15 later. Junior Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) ended the scoring with his 11th goal of the year at the 17:37 mark. SJU blocked 21 shots in the game, including six in the final 1:20 with the Oles' boasting an extra attacker.
Three Johnnies combined to score all nine points and Soley made 30 saves as SJU completed a sweep of St. Olaf in Northfield. Gross gave SJU a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season, a rebound of junior John Haeg's (Lakeville, Minn.) initial shot, 5:59 into the game. Senior Justin Hochsprung (Alexandria, Minn.) extended the lead to 2-0 with his fifth goal of the season 5:24 into the second period on a pass from Gross, via Haeg, 10 seconds after SJU killed off a power play. Hochsprung then capitalized on a St. Olaf turnover and made it 3-0 with 4:20 left in the second, unassisted. Haeg ended the scoring with an empty-net goal, his 10th tally of the season, with 31 seconds left, on a pass from Gross.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU leads the series with a 39-22-2 record against St. Olaf since the 1984-85 season, though the Oles have won seven of the last 11 meetings. Eight of the Johnnies' last 10 losses to the Oles were decided by one goal.
