Saint John's hockey opens its 2021-22 season at home against Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

MASKS REQUIRED: Per MIAC guidelines, all spectators and event staff must be masked at indoor athletic events, regardless of vaccination status.

FREE BUSING FOR CSB/SJU STUDENTS: Thanks to the SJU Senate, a bus will be available for CSB/SJU students for Saturday night's game. The bus departs the SJU Abbey Bell Banner at 6 p.m. (6:05 p.m. pickup from Flynntown) and leaves CSB's HCC at 6:20 p.m.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The numbers three, four and seven aren't the latest lottery numbers.

But they are key numbers that the Saint John's University hockey team hopes to bank on during the 2021-22 season.

Three is the number of returning players on the Johnnies' top line. SJU welcomes four transfers to the roster, while seven seniors – including two who received an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out all but 10 games during the 2020-21 season – provide both veteran leadership and skill. 

The Johnnies went 6-2-2 in their abbreviated 2020-21 season. With no MIAC regular-season title handed out last year, the Johnnies take the ice this season as the defending champions. 

The Johnnies went 8-2 over their final 10 conference games (6-0 on the road) to take the crown in 2019-20 and finished with a 9-3-4 record (12-9-5 overall). It was SJU's third consecutive MIAC Playoff appearance, and seventh overall.

Consequently, Doug Schueller was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in 2019-20. He earned his 150th win as the Johnnies' head coach in the 2020-21 season finale.

Here's a look at the 2021-22 Johnnies:

Top Line
The 2019-20, conference-championship team landed six student-athletes on the 20-man All-MIAC first team, of which two return: junior forwards Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) and Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.). Moore played all 10 games last winter and led SJU with 13 points (5g/8a) and a plus/minus ratio of +5. Johnson was close behind with 11 points (5g/6a) and two power-play goals. The duo have combined for 73 points (28g/45a) in 68 games played. Their lineman, junior forward Dan Wieber (St. Joseph, Minn.), tallied nine points (2g/7a) in 2020-21.

Six Seniors 
The Johnnies return six seniors to the ice in 2021-22, including two student-athletes using the NCAA-granted extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic: goaltender Mac Berglove (Elk River, Minn.) and defenseman Cole Souto (Yorba Linda, Calif.).

Berglove started nine games last winter and posted a 5-2-2 record, 2.63 GAA and a .910 save percentage (244 saves). He made nine starts in 2019-20 and posted two shutouts, a 4-1-3 record, .932 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA before his season was cut short due to injury. He boasts a 17-10-7 record with a 2.36 GAA and a .919 save percentage (930 saves) in 38 career games for the Johnnies.

Souto collected four points (3g/1a), including two power-play goals, in five games last winter. He has 36 points (15g/21a) and 10 power-play goals in 62 career games for SJU.

Forward Braden Altena (0g/1a; St. Cloud, Minn.), forward Brady Dahl (1g/0a; Rochester, Minn.) and defenseman Jerome Newhouse (1g/0a; Shorewood, Minn.) posted a point each last season. 

Goaltender Michael Magnuson (Sunfish Lake, Minn.) made one start in net and registered a 33-save victory at St. Scholastica. 

Offense on the Blue Line
Souto will again be joined on the blue line by juniors Joe Raleigh (Lake Elmo, Minn.) and Peter Tabor (Edina, Minn.), and sophomore Jack Olsen (Lakeville, Minn.). The trio combined for nine points (1g/8) in 2020-21 and have 21 points (4g/17a) in 79 career games.

Offensive Depth
Junior forwards Henry Enebak (Lakeville, Minn.) and Brett Meister (White Bear Lake, Minn.), and sophomore Max Borst (Edina, Minn.) return following significant playing time in 2020-21. Borst (0g/2a) and Enebak (3g/2a) played all 10 games, while Meister (0g/7a) missed only one.

Four Transfers
Four student-athletes joined the Johnnie hockey program via transfer for the 2021-22 season. Sophomore forward Nick Michel (Waconia, Minn.) made the move after playing four games for Division I Alabama-Huntsville, which ended its program following the 2020-21 season. Three others transferred to SJU from rival St. Thomas prior to the Tommies' move up to Division I: sophomore forwards Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) and Josh Maucieri (Crosby, Minn.), and sophomore defenseman Max Osborne (Anchorage, Alaska). The trio combined for 10 points (2g/8a) last season.

The 2021-22 Schedule
The Johnnies' 2021-22 slate contains 13 home games, including four consecutive to start the season, and is near a perfect split of six during fall semester and seven in 2022. Although all 13 games are scheduled to be held at St. Cloud State's Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, the home ledger is a bit unconventional for college hockey in regard to the day of the week. In addition to the five Saturday night games, SJU will also host games on Tuesday night (one), Wednesday night (one), Thursday night (five) and Sunday afternoon (one). The 2021-22 schedule is also SJU's first since 1981-82 in which all MIAC series will be home-and-home, including Concordia-Moorhead and Saint Mary's.

SJU follows Saturday's season opener with a home series Nov. 6-7 against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) and the MIAC opener Nov. 10 against Bethel. The Johnnies cross the state line to face Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Nov. 12) and Wisconsin-Stout (Nov. 13) before returning to conference play with a split series against Saint Mary's Nov. 18 (home) and Nov. 20 (away). 

SJU returns to the ice after the holidays with five of its first seven games at home, beginning with the regular season's final non-conference contests Jan. 6 against Wisconsin-Superior and Jan. 11 against Northland (Wis.). The bout with Northland is a Tuesday evening before the Johnnies' Jan. 14-15 series against Hamline (home on Jan. 15).

The MIAC quarterfinal game (No. 4 vs. No. 5) is set for Feb. 24 at the high seed, followed by the MIAC semifinals Feb. 26. The MIAC championship game, and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs, is scheduled for March 5.

A LOOK AT THE BLUGOLDS: Wisconsin-Eau Claire returns to the ice following a 4-3-1 record in the shortened 2020-21 season. The Blugolds (22-4-2, 11-3-1 WIAC) tied with Wisconsin-Stevens Point for the WIAC regular-season title in 2019-20 but topped the Pointers 4-2 for the WIAC Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Division III Playoffs, though they were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UWEC was picked to finish first in the WIAC preseason coaches' poll released Oct. 21. The Blugolds return 10 of their top 14 point-getters from last winter, including senior forward Jon Richards. Richards tallied six points (5g/1a) in eight games a year ago and 28 points (12g/16a) in all 28 games in 2019-20. Junior forward Andrew McGlynn was also a 20-point scorer two seasons ago - 27 (11g/16a) - and five (3g/2a) in 2020-21. Junior Riley McVeigh is 4-1 with a 1.81 GAA and a .906 save percentage (96 saves) over the past two seasons as the backup goaltender.

TWO YEARS AGO: SJU started the 2019-20 season with a 1-1 tie at then-No. 11 UWEC the last time these two teams met on Nov. 2, 2019, at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis.

Forward Brady Heppner '20 tied the game with his 35th career goal at the 14:22 mark of the second period, three minutes after he was denied on a penalty shot. A poke-check by defenseman Jake Dittel '21 at the UWEC blue line created a 2-on-1 for Moore and Heppner. The team's leading goal scorer the previous two seasons skated from left to right in front of the net and slipped a shot through the five-hole.

Adam Parsells gave the Blugolds a quick 1-0 lead 3:41 into the game.

Goaltender Andrew Lindgren '20 made 36 saves in the tie, the teams' fourth in the last six meetings. The Johnnies and Blugolds combined for 21 penalties and a 0-for-15 showing on the power play.