Saint John's hockey returns to conference play by hosting Bethel at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The two teams conclude the weekend series at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Super Rink in Blaine.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Friday, Dec. 1 in St. Cloud: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Saturday, Dec. 2 in Blaine: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

FREE STUDENT BUS ON FRIDAY: Thanks to the SJU Senate, a bus will be available for CSB/SJU students for Friday night's game at the HBNHC. 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.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-5-1, 1-3-0 MIAC) went 1-0-1 against two top-10 opponents last weekend in Utica, N.Y. The Johnnies played the host Pioneers, then-ranked No. 3 in the country, to a 1-1 tie on Friday before upsetting then-No. 8 Oswego State (N.Y.) with a 4-2 win on Saturday.

t-Saint John's 1, at then-No. 3 Utica (N.Y.) 1 (OT)
Utica won the shootout in the fourth round, 3-2, to determine Saturday's schedule. 
 
Junior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made a career-high 52 saves as SJU was out-shot by a 53-21 margin in the game. The Johnnies, however, went 1-for-6 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
 
Senior co-captain Max Borst (Edina, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal near the end of the first period. Senior forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) flipped the puck ahead to the bottom of the right-faceoff circle, where Borst caught the puck, dropped it and unleashed a backhanded shot to the back of the net for his first point of the season (15th goal and 30th point of his career) with 2:23 left in the opening frame.
 
Alexander Gullichsen tallied the game-tying goal for the Pioneers, on a rebound among a scrum of players, 8:29 into the third period.

Saint John's 4, then-No. 8 Oswego State (N.Y.) 2
SJU scored four unanswered goals, including three from freshmen, in Saturday's upset. Tyler Flack gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead with a deep slap shot 8:22 into the game and Connor Sleeth made it a two-goal game with a power-play tally 6:37 into the second period.
 
Freshman forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) started the scoring for SJU when he stole the puck from an Oswego State player near the Lakers' blue line and scored the breakaway goal at the 15:07 mark of the second period and freshman forward Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) tied the game with his team-leading fourth goal of the season when he directed a shot from freshman defenseman Parker Gnos (Excelsior, Minn.) 1:08 later.
 
Gnos scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 11:16 to play, this time without the redirect in front, for his second goal of the season and junior forward Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) sealed the victory with an empty-netter, his third tally of the season and 10th of his collegiate career, with 43 seconds to play.
 
Sophomore goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 29 saves to earn the win and even his season record at 2-2.

A LOT OF SAVES: Huber was named the MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week for the third time of his career on Monday (Nov. 27) thanks to his 52-save performance in last Friday's tie at then-No. 3 Utica (N.Y.). The 52 saves were the most by a Johnnie since March 2, 2019, when Andrew Lindgren '20 stopped 86 shots in the 2-1, triple-overtime loss at Augsburg in the MIAC Playoff Championship game. Huber has a 2.18 GAA and .936 save percentage (162 saves) despite a 1-3-1 record so far this season. 
 
NATIONALLY RANKED WINS: With the victory over Oswego State, the Johnnies have recorded a win over a nationally ranked (top 15) opponent in 12 of the past 14 seasons (at least a tie in all 14 seasons). SJU is 4-6-1 in its past 11 games against ranked opponents since the 2019-20 season.

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SJU, 2.44 gpg.
-BU, 2.22 gpg.

GAA
-BU, 1.96
-SJU, 2.53

Power Play
-SJU, 11.1 percent (4-for-36)
-BU, 6.5 percent (2-for-31)

Penalty Kill
-BU, 91.2 percent (31-for-34)
-SJU, 88.6 percent (31-for-35)

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (6-2-2, 2-1-1 MIAC) split a pair of road games over Thanksgiving break – a 4-1 loss at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) and a 4-2 win at Aurora (Ill.). MSOE struck first in last Saturday's game before fifth-year forward Sam Wilhite scored on a rebound opportunity. But that would be the end of the scoring for the visitors as the Raiders netted a goal in the second period and two more in the third. Sunday's contest consisted of nine total penalties but saw no power-play goals scored. Aurora took a 2-1 lead after the first period and then sophomore forward Jack Brown tied it with 20 seconds remaining in the second period. The Royals took three of their five penalties in the third period but managed to net two shorthanded goals 27 seconds apart from sophomore forward Tyler Kostelecky and fifth-year forward Luke Posner. Kostelecky leads the Royals with 10 points (6g/4a) this season, while junior defenseman Dan Stoyanoff returns after earning MIAC All-Conference honorable mention last season. Senior Travis Allen (3-1-2, 1.98 GAA, .942) and sophomore Austin Ryman (3-1-0, 1.92 GAA, .929) have split time in net so far this season. The Royals received votes in the latest USCHO.com Top 15 poll released Monday (Nov. 27).

LAST SEASON: The two teams split last season's series thanks to a home win for each squad.

at Saint John's 4, Bethel 1 – Dec. 1, 2022
The Johnnies snapped Bethel's five-game unbeaten streak with a 4-1 win at the HBNHC. Nick Michel '23 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.
 
Henry Enebak '23 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. Crosby won the offensive-zone faceoff back to Auggie Moore '23, who fed Michel for the one-timer. 

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 forward Josh Maucieri '23 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 defenseman Dan Wieber '23, 10:32 into the third period and Maucieri ended the game's scoring on an empty-net goal with 51 seconds remaining.

Huber 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, 2022
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 Peter Tabor '23 scored a shorthanded goal, a rebound of Borst's shot on goal, with 3:44 remaining.
 
Huber tied a season and career high with 30 saves in the loss for SJU.
 
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).

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 23-10-1 against BU under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller (12-4-0 at the HBNHC and 11-6-1 in Blaine). The Johnnies are 16-2-1 in the last 19 meetings overall (20-3-1 in the last 24).

FEATURE STORY: Saint John's University freshman Jack Wandmacher was familiar with a number of the other members of this season's Johnnie recruiting class long before they all arrived in Collegeville this fall.

And that familiarity led him to believe good things might be in store.

"I knew most of these guys, not personally, but through high school hockey and juniors," said Wandmacher, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward who has a team-best four goals and two assists through the first nine games this season.

"We've been around each other over the years, so I knew what kind of talent we were getting and that was exciting."

Indeed, SJU's youth movement has provided a real boost in the season's early going. In addition to Wandmacher, 6-foot-1, 175-pound forward Cam Boche has one goal and four assists and 5-11, 190-pound forward Jackson Bisson has two goals and two assists.

It was Bisson who stole the puck at the blue line and scored with his team down 2-0 in the second period against then-No. 8 Oswego State (N.Y.) in the Johnnies' second game at the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase last Saturday. Then, just over a minute later, Wandmacher tied the game off an assist from fellow freshman Parker Gnos, a 6-2, 195-pound defenseman. 

Gnos then scored in the third period and the Johnnies added an empty-net goal to down the Lakers 4-2. That win - coupled with a 1-1 tie against then-No. 3 Utica - was a big boost to an SJU squad that started the season 2-5-1.

"We felt like we had a pretty good freshmen class coming into this season," said SJU head coach Doug Schueller, whose team brought in nine freshmen and one transfer. "And because there were so many, we knew we were going to have to rely on some of them to play significant roles right away."

Bisson said he welcomed that opportunity.

"That's what any player wants - the chance to show what you're capable of doing," he said. "We're all fortunate to be part of such a great recruiting class, and we want to do everything we can to help this team win."

Boche said it's helped having the full support of more experienced players on the roster.

"We've only been here a couple of months, but everyone has been so welcoming," he said. "All the upperclassmen have gone out of their way to include us in everything. That's been really great."

And Bisson said tight bonds have already begun to form among this year's newcomers. 

"We all live together on the same floor in Tommy Hall," said Bisson, a Benilde-St. Margaret's High School graduate who played two-plus seasons of junior hockey before arriving in Collegeville. "It's all of us 21-year old freshmen and a bunch of sophomore football players. We're always hanging out in each other's rooms and doing a lot of stuff together."

That included - at least when the weather was still warm enough - a shared passion for golf.

"Cam, Jackson, (fellow freshman forward) Logan Lyke and I all love golfing," said Wandmacher, a St. Louis Park High School graduate who went on to play two seasons of junior hockey. "We've gone out a bunch of times together. That's been a lot of fun."

Boche - a Lakeville South High School graduate who also played two-plus seasons of junior hockey before coming to SJU - said the way things have gone so far – both on and off the ice - has him excited about the future.

"It's been great getting to know these guys and realizing we have the next four years here together," said Boche, whose team resumes conference play with a home-and-home series against Bethel at 7 p.m. Friday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud and 5 p.m. Saturday at the National Sports Center in Blaine. 

"It feels like we're already forming lifelong friendships."