The Johnnies make a brief return to non-conference hockey action with a 7:30 p.m. game, their only contest of the week, at Wisconsin-Stout this Saturday, Jan. 25, at Dunn County Ice Arena in Menomonie, Wis. - Live Stats | Live Video
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (1:14)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-6, 5-3 MIAC) extended its win streak to five games with a home sweep of Concordia-Moorhead, 5-3 and 2-1, last weekend (Jan. 18-19) in St. Cloud. SJU tallied three third-period goals in the 5-3 win last Saturday. Sophomore forward Alex Ach's (Champlin, Minn.) fourth goal of the year, with 5:35 remaining, proved to be the difference. The Cobbers gained a 2-0 lead with goals from Tucker Coborn and Jordan Christianson halfway through the first period. SJU answered, however, with goals from senior defenseman Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) and freshman forward Kevin Becker (Roseville, Minn.) to tie the game entering the second period. The goal was the first of the season for Johnson, the Johnnies' team captain, in what was his first appearance since Dec. 12 due to injury. Garrett Hendrickson gave the lead back to Concordia with 1:35 left in the second period before freshman defenseman Brady Riesgraf (Chaska, Minn.) tied the game at 3-3 with his first collegiate goal 6:27 into the third frame.
SJU built a 2-0 lead and denied all six of Concordia's power-play opportunities, including a two-minute 5-on-3 advantage late in the third period, to complete the weekend sweep with a 2-1 win over the Cobbers on Sunday. Sophomore forward Andrew Commers (Edina, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead with a rebound goal at the 10:10 mark of the first period. Junior forward John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) added to the Johnnies' lead with 2:42 remaining in the opening frame, his third goal of the season. Caleb Suderman cut the Cobbers' deficit in half with his 11th goal of the season with 3:49 left in the second period. SJU stormed out of the gate in the third period, registering 14 shots on goal to the Cobbers' three, until Johnson and Cossette were called for separate penalties with 5:31 remaining.
Sophomore goaltender Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) made 30 saves, including six on the late 5-on-3 penalty kill, to improve to 9-4 on the season (24-9-1 career). He made 22 saves in Saturday's win.
SOLEY HEATING UP: The reigning Co-MIAC Player of the Year, Soley has accumulated a 1.99 GAA and a .935 save percentage (144 saves) during the Johnnies' current five-game win streak. He boasted a 1.15 GAA, along with a 10-1-1 record, two shutouts and a .949 save percentage (262 saves) during a 12-game stretch before SJU fell at eventual national-champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 4-2, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament last season.
30-for-30: SJU leads the MIAC (conference games only) with a combined-special-teams percentage of .630: No. 1 power play (.241, 7-for-29) and No. 2 penalty kill (.886, 39-for-44). The Johnnies have successfully denied each of their opponents' last 30 power-play opportunities since Carl Krieger's power-play goal in the first period of SJU's 3-1 loss at Augsburg Dec. 6.
10 GAMES: Gross saw his consecutive-games streak with a point end at 10 in the Johnnies' 2-1 win over Concordia Jan. 19. He recorded 15 points (6g/9a) during the 10-game stretch, which is the longest for a Johnnie since Concordia-Moorhead assistant coach Scott Bjorklund '06 recorded a point in 12 straight games during the 2003-04 season. A four-time All-MIAC first-team selection and a three-time All-American for the Johnnies, Bjorklund totaled 21 points (8g/13a) during his 12-game span and finished seventh on SJU's all-time scoring list with 132 points (52g/80a) in 109 career games. He is also second in both career assists and plus/minus rating (+61).
A LOOK AT THE BLUE DEVILS: Wisconsin-Stout (6-10, 2-2 WIAC) returned to conference play with a weekend split at Wisconsin-Superior last weekend (Jan. 17-18), falling 6-1 in the opener before tallying two unanswered goals in a 2-1 win Saturday. The Yellowjackets totaled an 82-57 shot advantage on the weekend. Including its 5-3 loss to SJU Jan. 10, Stout is 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) on the power play, but has allowed seven power-play goals (53.3 percent penalty kill, 8-for-15). Senior Kevin O'Donnell leads the team in all three offensive categories: goals (9), assists (8) and points (17) in 14 games. Freshman Corey Koop has been the goaltender of record for all 16 of the Blue Devils' games this season with a 3.12 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
15 DAYS APART: SJU tallied two power-play goals and added an empty-netter, shorthanded, in a 5-3 win over Wisconsin-Stout 15 days ago on Jan. 10 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The Blue Devils entered the contest as NCAA Division III's top-ranked team in regard to combined special teams (63.8 percent): No. 10 on penalty kill (90.3 percent) and No. 11 on power play (25.6 percent). SJU ended the night 2-for-3 on the power play and did not allow a shot to reach Soley on four minutes of power play as Stout went 0-for-2 on the man advantage. Gross gave SJU a 1-0 lead 6:41 into the game with his sixth goal of the season and 15th of his collegiate career. The lead was short-lived, however, as Stout's Jordan Tredinnick snuck a shot through heavy traffic in front to the back of the net 30 seconds later. Junior defenseman Nick Vatnsdal (Independence, Minn.), making a spot start at forward, gave the lead back to the Johnnies with his second career goal at the 17:58 mark of the opening period. O'Donnell tied it for Stout with his eighth goal of the season, off a nice feed from behind the net by Craig Lindegard, 15:09 into the second period. SJU re-gained the lead on a power-play goal from junior defenseman Nick Senta (Savage, Minn.) with 1:18 left in the second frame and Gross made it a two-goal game with his fifth power-play goal of the season 3:25 into the final period. Zach Vierling cut the Blue Devils' deficit to one 4:16 later, but sophomore forward Alex Ach (Champlin, Minn.) sealed the win for SJU with a shorthanded, empty-net goal from center ice with 52 seconds remaining. The Johnnies were without four regulars that have appeared in 10 games or more each during fall semester, three due to injury: Commers, Trent Johnson and freshman forward Dan McNamara. Hochsprung spent some time over Christmas break in China as part of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University E-Scholars program and returned to the lineup last weekend.
GROSS & HAEG vs. STOUT: Gross (3g/3a) and Haeg (1g/5a) have combined for 12 points in three career games (2-0-1 record) against Stout. Gross registered the game-winning goal in the most recent meeting, the 5-3 win Jan. 10 in St. Cloud, while Haeg assisted on both goals that decided the SJU victory in the last three showdowns. Coincidentally, Gross and Haeg each have two goals and five assists during the Johnnies' current five-game win streak.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 11-5-1 all-time against Stout, including a 6-1 record in Menomonie, Wis.
