Saint John's hockey plays host to Northland for a 7 p.m. non-conference game tonight (Monday, Jan. 24) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

SPECTATOR POLICY: Saint John's University and St. Cloud State University updated the spectator policy for home hockey games in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. 
 
-Masks are required at all times. This is both an MIAC and SCSU policy. 
 
-Spectators must maintain 6 feet of social distancing from others (and 12 feet from student-athletes/coaches/staff). 
 
-Seating will be staggered by section, every-other row, for social distancing. The lower bowl will be open on both sides of the ice (seating will be blocked off behind the team benches). 
 
-Fans/parents must sit within their family or friend group and should remain in their seats for the duration of the event (no moving seats, socializing, etc.).  
 
-The concession stand will not be open. No food or drink is allowed to be brought in. 
 
Fans with any COVID-19, cold or flu symptoms are asked to not enter the venue.  
 
If anyone is unable to attend, or uncomfortable attending the game in person, SJU encourages fans to watch it online at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csbsju.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-5-2, 5-2-1 MIAC) returned to conference play last week by earning four of the six possible points in a win and tie (shootout loss) against St. Scholastica.

at Saint John's 5, St. Scholastica 2
SJU returned to conference play with a 5-2 win over St. Scholastica last Thursday (Jan. 20) in St. Cloud. The Johnnies jumped out to a 3-0 lead and scored a pair of empty-net goals to seal the victory in their first home game since Dec. 2.

Sophomore forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) started the scoring with his team-leading 10th goal of the season 3:19 into the game and junior forward Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) tallied his first goal of the season, and 35th point in his 35th career game, with 3:54 remaining in the opening frame.

Junior forward Dan Wieber (St. Joseph, Minn.) made it 3-0 with his first goal of the season 3:54 into the second period.

St. Scholastica erased the shutout on a power-play goal from Sam Fuss with 2:51 left in the second period and made it a one-goal game on Arkhip Ledenkov's seventh goal of the season 5:39 into the third period.

CSS was whistled for a five-minute major penalty with 10:49 to play but mustered only three shots on goal. SJU finished 0-for-5 on the man advantage (a total of 12:20).

The Johnnies thwarted the Saints' comeback attempt with two empty-net goals late in the third period. Crosby fired a long shot from deep in the Johnnies' defensive zone for his second tally of the night - and fourth multi-goal game of the season - at the 18:03 mark and freshman forward Garrett Smith (Eden Prairie, Minn.) ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Senior goaltender Mac Berglove (Elk River, Minn.) made 24 saves to improve to 8-3-1 on the year as SJU out-shot CSS, 41-26.

t-Saint John's 5, at St. Scholastica 5 (CSS, 1-0)
Crosby recorded his third hat trick of the season in a 5-5 tie at St. Scholastica Friday night (Jan. 21) in Duluth. The Saints won the shootout, 1-0, to earn the extra point in the MIAC standings.

Junior defenseman Peter Tabor (Edina, Minn.) started the night's scoring with his first goal of the season, and fourth of his career, 3:47 into the game. St. Scholastica tied the game, however, on a goal from Filimon Ledenkov 4:02 later and gained a 2-1 lead thanks to a power-play tally from Brodie Girod with 5:12 left in the opening frame.

Crosby scored the first of his three goals with 7:37 left in the second period and sophomore forward Josh Maucieri (Crosby, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with his third goal of the season 2:32 later.

The Saints swung the momentum back in their favor with a pair of goals 22 seconds apart late in the second period. 

Crosby tied the game at 4-4 with 8:53 remaining, but Ledenkov returned the lead back to the home team 1:11 later (with 7:42 left). Crosby came through again to complete the hat trick with his team-leading 14th goal of the season, tying the game at 5-5 with 4:24 left on the clock.

CSS held a narrow edge in shots, 38-37. SJU went 0-for-5 on the power play for the second straight game.

THIRD HAT TRICK: Crosby scored five goals in the series, including his third hat trick of the season Friday night in Duluth. All three goals were even-strength and tied the game, including the contest's final tally, and two of the three came in the third period. 

Crosby became the first Johnnie to record three hat tricks or more in a season since Craig Herr '92 tallied six during the 1991-92 season. The three hat tricks lead all of college hockey. Crosby leads the MIAC in goals (14) and is tied for second in NCAA Division III in goals per game (.88).

ASSISTS AND +'S: Sophomore defenseman Jack Olsen (Lakeville, Minn.) collected four assists, including three in Friday's tie, and a plus/minus rating of +6 in the two-game series against St. Scholastica. The last Johnnie defenseman to record three assists in a game was teammate Cole Souto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) in SJU's 6-1 home win over Lawrence (Wis.) on Nov. 27, 2016. Olsen has played all 16 games this season and leads the team with a +12, and is tops among SJU's defensemen with nine points (0g/9a).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SJU, 3.25 gpg.
-NC, 1.53 gpg.

GAA
-SJU, 2.08
-NC, 3.02

Power Play
-NC, 11.7 percent (7-for-60)
-SJU, 6.8 percent (5-for-73)

Penalty Kill
-NC, 84.1 percent (58-for-69)
-SJU, 80.0 percent (40-for-50)

A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northland (3-11-3, 0-8-1 WIAC) dropped a pair of conference games to Wisconsin-Stout, 5-3 (Thursday) and 6-3 (Saturday), last week. Senior defenseman Connor Evans leads the team in assists (13) and points (15), while junior forward Ty Brown touts a team-leading four goals this season. Sophomore goaltender Chris Curr is 2-8-1 with a 3.00 GAA and a .900 save percentage (389 saves).

TWO YEARS AGO: SJU tallied a close 3-2 win over Northland the last time the two teams met on Jan. 11, 2020, in Ashland, Wis. Kurt Sonne gave Northland an early 1-0 lead with his team-leading sixth goal of the season 1:48 into the game. A pair of freshmen, however, gave SJU a 2-1 lead. 

Forward Brett Meister (White Bear Lake, Minn.) tied the game at 1-1 with his first collegiate goal, in his second career game, 27 seconds after Sonne's tally. Wieber, who returned to forward after playing defenseman the previous night at Wisconsin-Superior, gave the Johnnies a 2-1 lead with his second collegiate goal with 3:22 left in the second period.

Kalib Ford tied the game on the power play 22 seconds into the third period, but forward Brady Heppner '20 scored what proved to be the game-winning goal - the 40th tally of his career (sixth of the season) - 27 seconds later during a 4-on-4.

Berglove made a career-high 49 saves in the win to move to 3-1-2 on the year.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 6-0 all-time against Northland, including a 2-0 record in St. Cloud. SJU has out-scored LC by a 44-9 in the series.