Saint John's hockey plays host to Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

YOUTH HOCKEY DAY, EVERY DAY: SJU Hockey will celebrate Youth Hockey Day at Sunday's game. Youth hockey players that wear their jerseys to the game will gain free admittance on Sunday, as well as at any of SJU's 11 remaining contests (including the two games at the MAC Nov. 21-22).

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-0-1 overall) earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Wisconsin-Superior in its home opener on Thursday night (Nov. 6) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Junior Neal Smith (Rogers, Minn.) gave SJU (2-0-1 overall) a 1-0 lead with a 4-on-4 rebound goal, his third of the young season, off the initial shot from classmate Joe Freemark (Lakeville, Minn.) 7:43 into the game. Senior Wally Cossette (Maple Grove, Minn.) collected the second assist, his team-leading fourth of the season. Sophomore Kevin Becker (Roseville, Minn.) broke the 1-1 tie with what proved to be the game-winner, his first tally of the season, at the 14:01 mark of the second period. Freemark generated the scoring play once again with a shot from the point. Becker possessed the rebound, skated around the goaltender and found the back of the net. Freshman Huba Sekesi (Germering, Germany) tallied the second assist for his first collegiate point. Junior Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) made 33 saves to move to 1-0-1 on the year and earn his 30th career win (30-13-2 record). UWS out-shot the Johnnies 34-27 in the game, including five-shot margins in the first (13-8) and third (14-9) periods. SJU denied four Superior power-play chances and is now 13-for-14 (92.9 percent) on the penalty kill through three games this season.

RECEIVING VOTES: SJU picked up 11 more votes (for a total of 13) in the latest USCHO.com Top 15 poll released Nov. 3. Sunday's opponent, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is ranked No. 10, while the Tommies fell from fifth to No. 12.

A LOOK AT THE BLUGOLDS: Wisconsin-Eau Claire opens its 2014-15 season at St. Olaf tonight (Nov. 7) before traveling to St. Cloud Sunday. The Blugolds welcome back its top three scorers from last year, including senior Joe Krause, who posted a team-high 21 points, and senior Jack Callahan, who contributed a team-best 14 assists. Junior Tyler Green and sophomore Jay Deo are both tied for third place on the program's career list with five shutouts each. Eau Claire established NCAA Division III records with five consecutive shutouts and 354:25 consecutive shutout minutes in net last year. In addition, UWEC ranked fifth nationally with 1.79 goals allowed per game and topped the WIAC in save percentage, fewest goals allowed and shutouts.

LAST YEAR: SJU suffered a 3-1 loss at then-No. 1 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the 2012-13 NCAA Division III champions, last Nov. 9 (2013) in Eau Claire. SJU out-shot the Blugolds by a 35-28 margin, but was 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. Josh Gross '14 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.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 5-14 all-time against UWEC, including a 2-4 record on SJU's home ice. Sunday's game is the first for the Blugolds at the National Hockey Center since Oct. 31, 2008 (a 3-2 win over SJU).