Box Score

ST. PETER, Minn. – No. 14 Saint John's hockey suffered a 2-1 defeat at Gustavus Adolphus on Friday, Feb. 16, in St. Peter.

Van Sullivan gave the Gusties (10-11-3, 9-6-0 MIAC) a 1-0 lead 10:58 into the game and J.T. Walters made it 2-0 on a deflection with 3:07 left in the second period, his first career goal. GAC out-shot SJU 17-5 in the first period and 26-10 after two. The Johnnies posted an 11-6 advantage in the third period to finish at a 32-21 deficit.

Senior captain Huba Sekesi (Germering, Germany) put SJU (15-7-2, 10-5-0 MIAC) on the scoreboard on a deflection, with an extra attacker on the ice, with 14 seconds remaining. Juniors Evan Okeley (Carmel, Ind.) and Sean Lang (Apple Valley, Minn.) assisted on the goal, which was the 25th of Sekesi's career.

SJU was without its top two scorers, sophomore forward Brady Heppner (Crookston, Minn.) and senior forward Sam Valerius (Maple Grove, Minn.), Friday night. Heppner (13g/11a) did not play due to illness, while Valerius (8g/15a) left the game in the first period due to an upper-body injury.

Sophomore goaltender Andrew Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) made 30 saves in the loss.

The Johnnies wrap up the regular-season schedule against the Gusties with Senior Night at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

SJU is currently tied with Augsburg for second place in the MIAC with 30 points, one point behind St. Thomas atop the standings. The Johnnies need a point to avoid the MIAC Playoff quarterfinal game Feb. 22, but yet could win the conference's regular-season title with a win (regulation or shootout) Saturday and some help.