The Johnnies wrap up their regular-season schedule with a pair of games against fifth-ranked St. Thomas this weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. game Friday, Feb. 21, at Cadet Ice Arena in Mendota Heights. The Tommies then visit SJU's home ice for a 7 p.m. game Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Free student buses will be provided Saturday. – Listen Live (Both Games, WBHR-660 AM) | Live Video (Friday) | Live Stats (Saturday) | Live Video (Saturday)
Preview Videos:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (1:14)
-Weekend Promo (1:54)
STUDENT BUSING ON SATURDAY: The free student buses will depart from the Bell Banner (SJU) at 6 p.m., followed by a 6:15 p.m. pick-up at the HCC (CSB), Saturday night.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (15-8, 9-5 MIAC) clinched, at worst, the fourth seed in the five-team MIAC Playoffs with a weekend sweep of Bethel, 5-1 and 3-1, Feb. 13 and Feb. 15. SJU recorded a season-high 54 shots on goal and lit the lamp twice on the power play in the 5-1 win Thursday night (Feb. 13) in St. Cloud. In addition to the 2-for-3 performance on the man advantage, SJU rejected all five Bethel power plays, hit the pipe four times and had a goal disallowed due to a high stick. Freshman defenseman Brady Riesgraf (Chaska, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal, a slap shot through the goaltender's five-hole, 15:17 into the first period. Senior forward Jason Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) extended the lead 2:49 later. He circled around the net and snuck a shot in on BU goaltender Steven Bolton, who fell backwards with the puck across the crease. SJU turned on the heat in the second period, posting a 26-11 advantage in shots, as well as three shots off the pipe and a disallowed goal from sophomore Andrew Commers (Edina, Minn.). Junior John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) tallied his fifth goal of the season 13:10 into the frame and senior captain Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) made it 4-0 with a power-play goal, a one-timer off the faceoff win from Haeg, at the 19:29 mark of the second. BU got on the scoreboard 4:16 into the third period. Junior Phil Johnson ended the scoring 1:39 later.
The Johnnies failed to capitalize on a five-minute major, and power play, called on Bethel 3:53 into Saturday night's (Feb. 15) game but Commers put the visitors on the scoreboard with his fourth goal of the season 10:06 into the first period. Haeg made it 2-0 for SJU 14:32 into the second period with his sixth goal of the season. The two-goal cushion only lasted 35 seconds, however, as freshman Kevin Becker (Roseville, Minn.) made it 3-0 in favor of SJU with this sixth goal of the season. The Royals erased the shutout with 9.5 seconds remaining. SJU out-shot the Royals 30-14 in the game, including a 22-9 advantage in the final two periods. The two teams combined for a 0-for-11 showing on the power play (0-for-6 SJU, 0-for-5 BU), of which the Royals generated only one shot on net in their five chances.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Haeg was named the MIAC Men's Hockey Athlete of the Week on Monday for his four-point (2g/2a) weekend as the Johnnies clinched, at worst, the fourth seed in the five-team MIAC Playoffs with a weekend sweep of Bethel, 5-1 and 3-1, Feb. 13 and Feb. 15. The honor is the first for Haeg, who has 78 points (24g/54a) in 75 career games. He tallied three points (1g/2a) in the 5-1 win at home Thursday and registered what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 3-1 road victory Saturday. Haeg locked up his third consecutive 20-point season Thursday night and now has 10 points (6g/4a) in seven career games against BU.
TOUGH AT HOME, TOUGH BETWEEN THE PIPES: The Johnnies are 21-5-1 in their last 27 games at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, including an 8-2 record this season. Soley is 4-0 with a 1.49 GAA and a .933 save percentage (84 saves) in his last four games overall and 7-1 with a 1.89 GAA and a .939 save percentage (216 saves) on the home ice this season. Without the three-goal first period allowed to Gustavus Feb. 1, Soley is 7-0 with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage (198 saves) at home. Away from the HBNHC, however, Soley is 6-5 with a 2.20 GAA and a .904 save percentage (227 saves).
9.5 LEFT: Bethel denied Soley his second shutout of the season (fourth of his career) with a goal with 9.5 seconds remaining in the Johnnies' 3-1 win Saturday. The shutout would have been SJU's first against the Royals since Jan. 17, 1998 (3-0). Soley (28-11-1 career record) needs one win to tie Steve Ebinger (1985-89, 29-42-2 record) for seventh on SJU's all-time goaltender win list.
ALONE IN SECOND: With Saturday night's victory, SJU head hockey coach Doug Schueller (67-72-13 record) broke his tie with Denny Hartman (1981-88, 66-118-2 record) for second in the program's history in wins, 174 behind John Harrington (1993-08, 241-142-31), a two-time Olympian as a player and member of the 1980 U.S. "Miracle on Ice" hockey team.
PLAYOFF SEEDS: Saint John's begins the weekend one point behind St. Olaf for third in the MIAC standings. The Oles take on a desperate Augsburg team, which needs a regulation-sweep to earn the No. 5 seed. If the Johnnies fail to overtake STO for third this weekend, they will host either Concordia or Augsburg in the No. 4/No. 5 game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The game is originally scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28, but the Division I St. Cloud State men's team hosts North Dakota for a nationally-broadcasted game at 8:07 p.m. that evening.
STREAKS: Both teams enter the final regular-season MIAC series with wins in bunches. SJU has won each of its last four games and 10 of its last 12. The Tommies, meanwhile, have won eight straight games and 14 of their last 16.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Saint John's received a vote in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll released Feb. 17 and St. Thomas was ranked fifth. The Tommies were also ranked fifth by D3hockey.com.
A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: As mentioned earlier, St. Thomas (18-3-2, 12-0-2 MIAC) brings an eight-game win streak to the weekend; a stretch in which it has out-scored its opponents 35-10. UST leads the MIAC (conference games only) in scoring offense (3.71 gpg.) and scoring defense (1.21 gpg.), and is second in both power play (24.5 percent, 12-for-45) and penalty kill (90.9 percent, 40-for-44). Sophomore goaltender Drew Fielding is 17-3-2 in net with a 1.44 GAA and a .942 save percentage. He broke the MIAC record for shutouts, set by SJU's Adam Hanna '06 with six in 2004-05, with his seventh against Hamline Jan. 25. Fielding, however, is 2-1 with a GAA around 3.00 and a .882 save percentage in three career games against SJU. Sophomore Nick Nielsen leads UST with 15 assists and 22 points, while junior Alex Altenbernd is close behind with 21 points (9g/12a). Overall, SJU and UST are nearly identical on special teams: power play (SJU – 18.8, UST – 18.9) and penalty kill (SJU – 89.4, UST – 89.6).
LAST SEASON: UST swept the MIAC-opening series last season, 4-2 and 3-0, though SJU won a non-conference meeting by a 4-2 score a month later. Then-No. 15 St. Thomas made the most of its opportunities in the 4-2 win. SJU entered the game with a 30.8-percent conversion rate (4-for-13) on the power play, but mustered only four shots on goal in a 0-for-4 showing (8:47 duration) Thursday night. The Johnnies out-shot UST 31-28 and held a 36-28 advantage in faceoffs. UST jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a goal from Altenbernd in the first period and a pair of goals, 53 seconds apart, from Michael Krieg and Derek Jacobson in the second period. Junior Wally Cossette (Maple Grove, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 3-1 with his first goal of the season with 17 seconds left in the second frame. Travis Baker added to the Tommies' lead at the 12:22 mark of the third period. Junior Jobe Peterson (St. Cloud, Minn.) ended the scoring with 2:02 remaining in regulation, his first collegiate goal.
UST turned a Saint John's turnover into a first-period goal and added two empty-net goals in the third to defeat SJU 3-0 the following night. Alex Niestrom took advantage of an SJU turnover with an unassisted goal 5:01 into the opening period, giving UST a 1-0 lead. With the Johnnies possessing the puck in their own end, a pass across the faceoff circles went off a skate directly to Niestrom, who was all alone in front. Following a scoreless second period, Niestrom tallied an empty-net goal with 1:47 remaining and Chris Cass ended the scoring with an empty-netter of his own with 29 seconds left. SJU was 0-for-3 on the power play to finish 0-for-7 in the two-game series. Shots were even at 18 apiece before the Tommies claimed the game's final four shots, including the two empty-net goals.
Soley made 39 saves and the Johnnies' special teams tallied a pair of power-play goals and a shorthanded tally in the 4-2 non-conference win at home. SJU jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to power-play goals from Cossette and Phil Johnson in the first period, followed by an unassisted tally from classmate Nick Vatnsdal (Independence, Minn.), the first of his collegiate career, in the second. Krieg and Altenbernd cut the UST deficit to 3-2, 1:56 apart, in the second period. Johnson lit the lamp for the second time of the night with a two-on-one shorthanded breakaway goal 1:32 into the third frame. The Tommies out-shot SJU 41-26 in the game but were 0-for-4 on the power play.
SERIES HISTORY: St. Thomas leads the series 44-24-6 in 74 previous meetings since 1984-85. SJU is 3-8-2 against the Tommies under the direction of Schueller: 1-4-0 at home, 1-3-1 at Cadet Ice Arena and 1-1-1 at a neutral site.
