The Johnnie hockey team ends fall semester by hosting a pair of non-conference games this weekend, beginning with Concordia (Wis.) for Senior Night at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. SJU then faces Lawrence (Wis.) for a neutral-site game as part of Hockey Fights Cancer at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Rosemount Ice Arena in Rosemount. 

LIVE COVERAGE
-Friday, Dec. 9: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video
-Saturday, Dec. 10: Listen Live (WBHR 660-AM) | Live Stats (no video)

TICKET INFORMATION: Fans wishing to attend SJU hockey's home games at the HBNHC in St. Cloud must purchase tickets online. The ticket booths will not be open due to staffing. – Purchase Online Tickets

FREE BUS FOR CSB/SJU STUDENTS ON FRIDAY NIGHT: Thanks to the SJU Senate, a bus will be available for CSB/SJU students for Friday night's home game in St. Cloud. The bus departs the SJU Abbey Bell Banner at 6:15 p.m. (then a pickup from Flynntown) and leaves CSB's HCC at 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY NIGHT IN ROSEMOUNT: All proceeds from Saturday night's game in Rosemount will support a local seventh-grade student who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, as well as the CapStrong Corporation, which is named for Rosemount High School student Cap George, who died of brain cancer in March 2020. 

Rosemount's Face Off Against Cancer Schedule (Dec. 10)
10 a.m.: Rosemount vs. Lakeville North (boys J.V.)
Noon: Rosemount vs. Lakeville North (girls J.V.)
2 p.m.: Rosemount vs. Lakeville North (girls varsity)
4:30 p.m.: Rosemount vs. Lakeville North (boys varsity)
7:30 p.m.: Saint John's vs. Lawrence

Two Lakeville natives, Cory Checco and Ryan Williams, play for Lawrence, while the SJU roster includes former Rosemount H.S. players, freshman defenseman Mason Campbell and sophomore forward Jackson Sabo, and three Lakeville natives: senior forward Henry Enebak, freshman defenseman Zach Enebak and junior defenseman Jack Olsen.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-5-1, 3-2-1 MIAC) split its series with Bethel last Thursday-Friday, Dec. 1-2.

at Saint John's 4, Bethel 1 (Dec. 1)
SJU snapped Bethel's five-game unbeaten streak with a 4-1 win last Thursday at the HBNHC. Senior forward Nick Michel (Waconia, Minn.) scored a pair of goals for SJU, which outshot the Royals 39-25 and did not provide the visitors a power play in the victory.

Senior forward Henry Enebak (Lakeville, Minn.) gave SJU a quick 1-0 lead with a rebound goal off his own shot, his first goal of the season and fifth of his Johnnie career, 2:35 into the contest. Michel gave the home team a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal six seconds into the man advantage at the 8:35 mark of the first period. Junior forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) won the offensive-zone faceoff back to senior captain Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.), who fed Michel for the one-timer. The goal was Michel's eighth of the season and fifth on the power play.

Spencer Kring cut Bethel's deficit in half, 2-1, on a shot from the blue line with 8:28 remaining in the opening frame.

The Johnnies posted an 18-6 shot advantage in the second period, but the score remained at 2-1. The 18 shots on goal did not include the two pipes – the first from junior forward Josh Maucieri (Crosby, Minn.) 4:22 into the frame and Enebak on a breakaway with 6:50 remaining in the period – struck by the Johnnies.

Michel padded SJU's lead on a 10-foot breakaway, thanks to a long pass from senior defenseman Dan Wieber (St. Joseph, Minn.), 10:32 into the third period and Maucieri ended the game's scoring on an empty-net goal with 51 seconds remaining.

Sophomore goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) stopped 24 shots in his home debut to improve to 4-1-1 on the year.

at Bethel 2, Saint John's 1 (Dec. 2)
The Johnnies settled for a weekend split with a 2-1 loss at Bethel on Friday at the Super Rink in Blaine. Justin Kelley gave BU a 1-0 lead 6:43 into the game and Tyler Braccini made it 2-0 6:20 into the second period, eight seconds into a power play.

The Edina Connection cut the Johnnies' deficit in half when senior defenseman Peter Tabor (Edina, Minn.) scored a shorthanded goal, a rebound of junior forward Max Borst's (Edina, Minn.) shot on goal, with 3:44 remaining.

Huber tied a season and career high with 30 saves in the loss. The Johnnies' power play entered the contest tied for third in NCAA Division III at 33.3 percent (15-for-45) but went 0-for-4 with four shots on goal. The loss ended SJU's seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1 record) on the Royals' home ice since the last defeat on Feb. 13, 2015 (a 2-0 score).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SJU: 3.0 gpg.
-CUW: 2.0 gpg.
-LAW: 1.3 gpg.

GAA
-SJU: 2.25
-LAW: 3.68
-CUW: 4.08

Power Play
-SJU: 30.6 percent (15-49)
-LAW: 11.1 percent (4-36)
-CUW: 10.9 percent (6-55)

Penalty Kill
-SJU: 75.7 percent (28-37)
-CUW: 75.5 percent (40-53)
-LAW: 69.0 percent (29-42)

A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Concordia (2-9, 2-4 NCHA) has lost three straight, including a pair last weekend to No. 5 St. Norbert (Wis.), by scores of 4-1 and 8-0. Sophomore Zach Brydges leads the Falcons in goals with four and is tied with freshman Parker Williams (3g/3a) for the team lead in points with six. Freshman Gabe Rosek has started seven of the team's 11 games in net and has a 2-5 record, 3.66 GAA and a .929 save percentage (340 saves). CUW's 27-man roster consists of 20 freshmen, four sophomores and three juniors.

LAST YEAR: The Johnnies scored the game's final four goals and out-shot the Falcons by a 33-20 margin, including a 14-3 advantage in the third period, in a 5-1 win last Dec. 10 (2021) in Mequon, Wis. SJU went 1-for-7 on the power play, including a number of shots off the pipe, as CUW totaled 43 minutes on 12 penalties. 

Forward Braden Altena '22 started the scoring for SJU with his first goal of the season 5:46 into the game. CUW tied it at 1-1 halfway through the first period, but Crosby gave the lead back to the Johnnies on his sixth goal of the season with 3:44 remaining in the opening frame.

Defenseman Max Osborne padded the visitors' lead with a power-play goal, his third tally of the season, 6:32 into the second period and senior forward Joe Papa (St. Charles, Ill.) made it 4-1 with his first collegiate goal 1:04 later.

Sophomore forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) ended the scoring with a breakaway goal, his fourth tally of the season, with three seconds remaining.

Goaltender Michael Magnuson '22 made 19 saves to earn his second career win, and first of the season, in his fourth collegiate start. Moore extended his point streak to seven games with a pair of assists on the night.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU leads the series with a 4-2-2 record, but the Falcons are 2-1-1 at the HBNHC.

A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Lawrence (1-8, 1-5 NCHA) has scored one goal over its last three games, all losses, including 4-0 and 5-0 shutouts last weekend (Dec. 3-4) at now-No. 11 Aurora (Ill.). Junior Cory Checco leads Lawrence in points with five (1g/4a) and is tied for the team lead in assists with classmate Kyle Gierman. Senior Zach Lodes has a team-leading three goals. Freshman Owen Carlson is 1-4 with a 3.58 GAA and a .906 save percentage (173 saves). The Vikings visit Gustavus Adolphus Friday night before Saturday's game in Rosemount.

A YEAR AGO: SJU blanked Lawrence 5-0 last Dec. 11 (2021) in Appleton, Wis. Crosby scored a natural hat trick, his second three-goal game of the season, and goaltender Mac Berglove '21 made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career. The Johnnies outshot the Vikings, 52-21.

Defenseman Jerome Newhouse '22 cleaned up a loose puck at the side of the net to give SJU a 1-0 lead with 45 seconds left in the first period, 21 seconds after a Johnnie power play expired. Crosby scored the first of his three straight goals 3:52 into the second period and made it 3-0 three minutes into the third. He completed the hat trick with 14:28 remaining, his team-leading ninth goal of the season and fourth of the weekend.

Moore ended the scoring with a shorthanded, empty-net goal from his own blue line with 1:09 left in regulation. Moore also collected assists on all three Crosby goals.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 12-0 all-time against the Vikings with a 90-21 goal margin in the series. The only other neutral-site meeting was Nov. 27, 2004, in Menomonie, Wis. (a 6-3 win).