Saint John's hockey opens its 2023-24 season by hosting Wisconsin-River Falls for Senior Night at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Live Radio (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

FREE STUDENT BUS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT: Thanks to the SJU Senate, a bus will be available for CSB/SJU students for Saturday night's season opener in St. Cloud. The bus departs the SJU Abbey Bell Banner at 6 p.m. (then a pickup from Flynntown at 6:05 p.m.) and leaves CSB's HCC at 6:15 p.m. for a hopeful arrival of 6:45 p.m. at the HBNHC. The bus will depart at approximately 9:15 p.m. (after the game) to return students to the pick-up locations.

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

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The 2022-23 hockey season was full of highlights at Saint John's University.

The Johnnies finished 9-5-2 in MIAC play and 13-10-3 overall, placing third in the final regular-season conference standings and making their fifth-consecutive appearance in the MIAC playoffs.

That record included a dramatic 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory over Augsburg outdoors under the lights at Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township as part of Hockey Day in Minnesota weekend. 

Three All-MIAC selections, and seven of the 10 players who recorded 10 points or more, return as head coach Doug Schueller begins his 16th season at the school. Joining them are 10 newcomers – nine freshmen and a sophomore transfer.

Here is a more detailed look at the 2023-24 Johnnies:

Returning Netminders
The Johnnies return both goaltenders who saw time in net last season. Junior Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) was left off the 2022-23 All-MIAC team despite leading the conference with a 2.15 goals-against average and was third in save percentage (.918). He started 19 games between the pipes and posted an 11-5-3 record with two shutouts and 457 saves. Thirty-four percent (14 of 41) of his goals allowed were on the penalty kill. Sophomore Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) appeared in seven games and went 2-5 with a shutout, 3.18 GAA and a .888 save percentage (174 saves).

Senior Leaders
SJU returns a pair of senior forwards from Edina – Lewis Crosby and Max Borst – who totaled 17 points or more last season. A two-time All-MIAC selection, Crosby played all 26 games and totaled 22 points (7g/15a) with a team-leading 90 shots in 2022-23. He led the team with 13 power-play points (5g/8a) and was second in both assists (15) and power-play goals (5). The scoresheet was not the only place Crosby made an impact as he led the MIAC, both overall (.608/400-258) and in conference play (.597/244-165), in the faceoff circle.

A member of the 2022-23 MIAC All-Playoff team, Borst ended the season second on the team with nine goals and fourth in points (9g/8a), which included three power-play goals and a pair of game-winners. The forward was also whistled for just two minor penalties in 23 games. 

Decorated Defensemen
A pair of decorated defensemen, senior Jack Olsen (Lakeville, Minn.) and sophomore Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.), headline the Johnnies' blue line in 2023-24. An All-MIAC pick as a sophomore in 2021-22, Olsen played 25 games last season and totaled 12 points (3g/9a), which ranked third on the team among defensemen. Campbell was named to the All-USCHO Rookie first team after he finished fifth on the team – first among defensemen – with 16 points (6g/10a) in 25 games as a freshman. He was whistled for two penalties with a plus/minus rating of +7. Campbell tied for second in the MIAC with two game-winning goals and collected eight points (4g/4a) in league play en route to All-MIAC honors.

SJU also returns juniors Cooper Anderson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Danny Eckerline (Orono, Minn.), and sophomores Zach Enebak (Lakeville, Minn.) and Michael Spinner (Prior Lake, Minn.). Eckerline recorded a goal and an assist in 25 games, while Spinner added three points (2g/1a) in 14 games. Enebak tallied three assists in seven games and Anderson registered an assist in four games before he suffered a season-ending injury Nov. 19 at St. Scholastica.

Returning Depth
SJU also returns three junior forwards who registered 10 points or more last season. Jackson Sabo (Rosemount, Minn.) totaled 12 points (4g/8a), including two game-winning goals, in 18 games and won 54.2 percent (150-127) of his faceoff draws. Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) collected 10 points (3g/7a) and was second on the team with a plus/minus rating of +10 in 24 games, while Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) added 10 points (1g/9a) in 20 games.

A trio of forwards saw the ice in 15 games or more in 2022-23. Junior Cody Carlson (Buffalo, Minn.) tallied two power-play goals and added four assists in 16 games. Another junior, Garrett Smith (Eden Prairie, Minn.), totaled four assists and a +8 in 23 contests and sophomore Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.) had three points (2g/1a) in 15 games as a freshman.

The 2023-24 Schedule
The schedule has 11 home games at St. Cloud State's Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC), including four on Thursday evening, as well as two neutral-site games at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud.

SJU begins the 2023-24 season with five of its first six games in St. Cloud, including the Oct. 28 opener against Wisconsin-River Falls at the HBNHC. The Johnnies face Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which finished 18-9-1 and was the runner-up in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), and Northland (Wis.) on Nov. 3-4, respectively, at the MAC. The team then opens MIAC play with a pair of long-distance, Thursday-Saturday series vs. Concordia (at Moorhead on Nov. 9, home on Nov. 11) and St. Scholastica (home on Nov. 16, at Duluth on Nov. 18).

The Johnnies travel to New York over Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 24-25) with games against host Utica and either Elmira (N.Y.) or SUNY Oswego. Fall semester ends with a conference series vs. Bethel on Dec. 1-2 (home on Dec. 1) and a pair of games Dec. 9-10 vs. the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.). 

The team opens the 2024 calendar year Jan. 5-6 with a conference series against Gustavus Adolphus (home on Jan. 5) and plays its final non-conference games across the state line at Wisconsin-Stout (Jan. 12) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Jan. 13). SJU defeated Stevens Point, which won the WIAC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, by a 3-2 score last season in Sartell; one of the Pointers' six losses (20-6-4 record). MIAC competition returns Jan. 18 with a home game vs. Hamline (Jan. 19 in St. Paul) and concludes against Augsburg (home on Jan. 25), Saint Mary's (home on Feb. 3) and St. Olaf (home on Feb. 8).

Like the 2022-23 campaign, the Johnnies once again own the conference's final bye weekend (Feb. 16-17) before the MIAC Playoffs, which begin with the quarterfinal game (No. 4 vs. No. 5) on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the high seed. The MIAC semifinals follow on Saturday, Feb. 24 and the MIAC championship game, with the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs on the line, is set for Saturday, March 2. Due to availability at the HBNHC, the Johnnies would host the semifinal on Sunday, Feb. 25 and the championship on Thursday, Feb. 29.

NEXT WEEKEND AT THE MAC: As noted above, the Johnnies host a pair of "home" games next Friday-Saturday (Nov. 3-4) at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. SJU faces No. 14 UW-Eau Claire at 6 p.m. (yes, 6 p.m.) Friday and Northland (Wis.) at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Wisconsin-River Falls returns a trio who were named All-WIAC honorable mention from a team that went 11-15-1 and finished fifth in the WIAC with a 5-9-1 record in 2022-23: senior forward Noah Roofe, senior goaltender Dysen Skinner and sophomore forward Dylan Smith. Smith led the Falcons in assists (10) and tied for the team lead in goals (7), including three on the power-play and two shorthanded, as well as a pair of game-winners. Roofe was second in points with 15 (6g/9a) and had two game-winning goals. Skinner returns in net after recording four shutouts, a 2.09 GAA and 462 saves in 21 games for a .918 save percentage. River Falls was picked to finish fifth in the 2023-24 WIAC Preseason Coaches' poll and received a pair of votes in the USCHO.com preseason poll.

LAST SEASON: SJU scored three unanswered goals to win its 2022-23 season opener with a 3-1 score last Oct. 29 (2022) at River Falls. Valentino Passarelli gave UWRF a 1-0 lead 4:07 into the game, but Campbell answered with a game-tying goal – his first collegiate point – 29 seconds later.
 
Joe Papa '23 tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal with 6:41 left in the opening period and Borst added an insurance goal with the empty net at the 19:28 mark of the third frame. Huber made his first collegiate start and stopped 27 shots in the victory.
 
The two teams combined to go 0-for-6 on the power play (SJU: 0-4, UWRF: 0-2). SJU posted a 15-6 advantage in shots in the first period, though the Falcons registered a 22-12 margin the rest of the way.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 7-14-2 against the Falcons since the 1995-96 season, including a 1-4-2 record as the home team. The 6-2 victory in 2017 snapped a nine-game skid in the series for SJU, which is 2-0-1 against UWRF since.