Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Saint John's hockey advanced to the MIAC Playoff Championship game with a 4-1 semifinal win over St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

The Johnnies (12-9-5, 9-4-3 MIAC) will play the winner of Saturday's other semifinal, Saint Mary's at No. 6/8 Augsburg, next Saturday, March 2.



Senior defenseman Sean Lang (Apple Valley, Minn.) and senior forward Evan Okeley (Carmel, Ind.) scored two goals apiece, one each on the power play (2-for-5), and junior goaltender Andrew Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) made 39 saves in the win.

Lang opened the scoring with a blast from the point, on the power play, 8:01 into the game. He made it 2-0 with a deflected shot trickled to him on the back door 8:28 into the second period. 

Okeley extended the Johnnies' lead to 3-0 when he deflected a power-play shot from senior forward Matt Colford (Champlin, Minn.) to the back of the net at the 13:08 mark of the second. Colford and sophomore forward Ryan Kero (Hermantown, Minn.) collected two assists each on the afternoon.

Luke Radetic erased the shutout for UST (14-7-5, 8-3-5 MIAC) with his 14th goal of the season, unassisted, with 3:34 left in the second frame.

Okeley ended the scoring with a rebound of his own initial shot 9:38 into the third period.

The multi-goal game was the second of Lang's career and first since he registered two goals and an assist Jan. 21, 2017, in a 5-4 win at Bethel. The two-goal game was Okeley's first since he tallied two goals and an assist in a different 5-4 win at Bethel on Dec. 8, 2017.

The Tommies out-shot SJU 40-21, including a 31-12 advantage after the first period, but went 0-for-5 on the power play.