By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Things weren't going well for the Saint John's University hockey team during a matchup against Concordia on Jan. 11, 2003 in Moorhead.

After winning the first of the two-game road series 9-3 the night before, the Johnnies trailed the Cobbers 4-0 midway through the second period and seemed on their way to their first MIAC loss of the season.

That is until Ryan Langenbrunner '06 helped get things turned around. 

The freshman forward from Cloquet – whose brother Jamie won two Stanley Cups during a lengthy NHL career and captained the 2010 U.S. Olympic team – got his team on the board with the first of what turned into five unanswered goals (including two by senior forward Bryan Talbot '03) in a 5-4 overtime victory.

"I just remember that was always a really tough place to play," said Langenbrunner, who finished the two-game series 20 years ago with four goals and two assists to earn MIAC player of the week honors.

"(Concordia) always played us tough up there. We got off to a slow start and I think that was just one of those games when we needed a wake-up call to really get us going."

The 2002-03 Johnnies didn't usually need such reminders. The team got off to a 10-0-1 start in conference play and a 15-4-1 start overall. SJU finished the year 20-7-1, winning the MIAC regular-season and postseason titles before falling 2-0 at Wisconsin-River Falls in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Langenbrunner led the way with 15 goals and 24 assists and joined goalie Rick Gregory '03 as AHCA second-team All-American picks.

"That was really a special group," Langenbrunner said. "I could say that about all the teams I was part of at Saint John's. But that was probably the most cohesive team I'd ever been a part of - on and off the ice. 

"We all enjoyed being together and I think that translated into the resilience we showed the entire season."

Langenbrunner finished his career at SJU with 41 goals and a school-record 81 assists. His 122 career points still ranks him eighth in program history,

These days, he resides in Rochester where he works in corporate strategy for IBM. He also coaches youth hockey where he has coached his daughters, now ages 13, 11 and eight. 

But he said he still looks back on his time in Collegeville with great fondness.

"It was the camaraderie that stood out most," he said. "The teammates I had there weren't just my teammates on the ice. They were my classmates and friends. And they're still my friends today. 

"Those are the people who made the biggest impact on my life."

5 years ago (2018)
Patrick Strom '18 scored 24 points, including a career-best eight 3-pointers, as the SJU basketball team set a single-game school scoring record in a 133-80 win over Macalester on Jan. 17 in Collegeville. The victory improved the Johnnies' record to 9-0 in MIAC play and 13-1 overall.

10 years ago (2013)
Jim Smith picked up his 750th career victory as the SJU basketball team topped Carleton 73-66 on Jan. 21 in Collegeville.

60 years ago (1963)
SJU football coach John Gagliardi was named national coach of the year in a poll of Catholic college coaches conducted by the Tablet, a newspaper in Brooklyn, N.Y. Gagliardi led the Johnnies to a 9-0 finish and the MIAC title in 1962 and his team would go on to win the NAIA national championship a year later.

65 years ago (1958)
Roger Ludwig '59 upset reigning MIAC Most Valuable Wrestler Al Tweit 8-7 at 175 pounds as the SJU wrestling team defeated Concordia 23-8 in dual meet action on Jan. 13 in Collegeville.

85 years ago (1938)
Jim Boyd '41 finished with 11 points and Vedie Himsl '38 finished with six as the SJU basketball team knocked off archrival St. Thomas 42-33 on Jan. 10 in St. Paul.