Box Score

WINONA, Minn. – Saint John's hockey came back from a three-goal deficit to top Saint Mary's 6-5 and win the 2020 MIAC regular-season championship on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22, in Winona.

The Johnnies (12-8-5, 9-3-4 MIAC) earned the No. 1 seed in the five-team MIAC Playoffs and host a semifinal against the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal (Gustavus Adolphus/St. Thomas) at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Feb. 29, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The regular-season title is the program's ninth and first since 2013 (first out-right championship since 2005).

Freshman forward Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a breakaway with 3:47 to play. He ended the weekend with seven points (3g/4a), including both game-winning goals, in the two-game sweep and currently leads the team with 27 (11g/16a). Both Moore and freshman forward Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) recorded three assists in the victory.

Saint Mary's (9-14-2, 6-9-1 MIAC) scored a pair of goals, on four shots, in the game's first six minutes and gained a 3-0 lead 7:05 into the second period.

Junior defenseman Travis Brown (Otsego, Minn.) put SJU on the scoreboard with a power-play goal (4-on-3), his seventh tally of the season, 2:17 later (9:22 mark). The Cardinals, however, answered to make it 4-1 less than two minutes after.

The Johnnies upped the offensive pressure for the remainder of the second period and it resulted in three SMU penalties and a pair of power-play goals. Sophomore forward Davis Kirkendall (Hamel, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit to 4-2 with his 10th goal of the season at the 15:00 mark. With an extra attacker on the ice (6-on-4), due to a delayed penalty on SMU, senior forward Brady Heppner (Crookston, Minn.) lit the lamp 1:29 later for his eighth goal of the season and 42nd of his career. The Johnnies did not score on the ensuing power play and trailed 4-3 entering the third period.

SJU's freshman line of Johnson, Moore and Dan Wieber (St. Joseph, Minn.) was responsible for all three third-period goals. Johnson tied the game 2:30 into the third period and found Wieber from behind the net for the go-ahead tally 2:45 later. 

A boarding penalty on Johnson, however, with 6:45 remaining gave SMU 1:18 of a 5-on-3 power play. Kyle Meeh took advantage of the opportunity and scored his second goal of the game, and team-leading 13th of the season, to re-tie the contest at 5-5 with six minutes to play.

Senior goaltender Andrew Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) made 28 saves in the win (8-7-2 record). The Johnnies scored a season-high three power-play goals (3-for-9) in the game, while the Cardinals went 2-for-5. Half (16 of 32) of SJU's shots on goal were recorded during a man advantage.

The Johnnies are now 21-4 record in their last 25 games in Winona, including wins in 16 of the last 18 (29 of the last 39 overall).