Saint John's hockey ends fall semester by hosting the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) for a pair of non-conference games this Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.), Dec. 9-10, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-7-1, 1-5-0 MIAC) lost a pair of close games last weekend to Bethel. The series sweep was the first for BU over the Johnnies since November 2009.

Bethel 3, at Saint John's 2 (OT) – Dec. 1
SJU dropped a roller coaster of a game to Bethel, 3-2 in overtime, last Friday (Dec. 1) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

Junior forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:11 remaining in regulation for SJU, which picked up a point in the MIAC standings with the overtime loss.

Tyler Kostelecky, however, scored the game-winning goal 42 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime for Bethel.

Freshman forward Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead 6:23 into the game when he deflected a shot from sophomore defenseman Michael Spinner (Prior Lake, Minn.) for his third goal of the season. Lyke also added an assist on Rudrud's game-tying tally for the first multi-point game of his collegiate career.

The Johnnies recorded the game's first seven shots on goal but the Royals responded with a surge of their own and the home team led by just a 9-7 margin after the first period. The momentum spilled into the second period as BU gained a 2-1 lead on goals from Jack Brown 5:05 into the frame and Jeremiah Konkel at the 11:54 mark.

Sophomore goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 30 saves in the loss as BU finished with a 33-29 advantage in shots. Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play.

The win was just Bethel's third in its last 15 games at the HBNHC, all decided by one goal.

at Bethel 4, Saint John's 2 – Dec. 2
Bethel scored four unanswered goals to defeat SJU 4-2 last Saturday (Dec. 2) at the Super Rink in Blaine.

Junior forward Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) gave the Johnnies a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal – a 2-on-1 tally from freshman forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) - 4:01 into the game. He made it 2-0 with his second goal of the game of the contest, and fifth of the season, 9:36 into the second period.

Special teams came through for Bethel, however, near the end of the second period to tie the game. Jeremiah Konkel tallied a power-play goal with 3:26 left and Kostelecky tied the contest at 2-2 with a shorthanded goal 2:20 later.

Matt Berezowski scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 4:23 into the third period and Tyler Braccini added some insurance with four minutes to play.

Junior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made 28 saves in the loss (1-4-1 record).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-MSOE, 2.83 gpg.
-SJU, 2.36 gpg. 

GAA
-MSOE, 2.33 
-SJU, 2.73 

Power Play
-MOSE, 19.6 percent (10-for-51)
-SJU, 9.5 percent (4-42)

Penalty Kill
-SJU, 87.8 percent (36-for-41)
-MSOE, 86.9 percent (53-for-61)

A LOOK AT THE RAIDERS: Milwaukee School of Engineering (6-5-1, 2-5-1 NCHA) dropped both games last weekend (Dec. 1-2) to St. Norbert (Wis.), which received votes in the latest USCHO.com poll. The Green Knights struck first Friday night, scoring just 23 seconds into the game. St. Norbert began to pile it on early as they proceeded to score three-straight goals on the power play in the first period. Junior forward Charlie Skinner netted the only goal of the game for the Raiders. MSOE scored a pair of power-play goals in the first period Saturday from senior forward Kevin Paganini and sophomore forward Carson Jones to take a 2-1 lead. SNC answered, however, with the game's final three goals to complete the sweep. Jones leads the Raiders with 12 points (6g/6a), freshman defenseman Casey Roepke has 10 (1g/9a) and last season's NCHA freshman of the year, forward Gramm McCormack, has nine (2g/7a). McCormack joined SJU's Mason Campbell on the USCHO.com All-Rookie team. Sophomore goaltender Austin Schwab has seen the majority of time between the pipes this season and has a 3-5-1 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.42 GAA. 

LAST SEASON: MSOE took two, tightly contested games at home during Thanksgiving weekend last season.

at Milwaukee School of Engineering 3, Saint John's 2 – Nov. 25, 2022
A rebound goal from Jackson Hughes proved to be the game-winner for MSOE with 2:05 remaining.

The Johnnies killed off a five-minute major, including 1:43 of a 5-on-3 power play, in the third period and outshot the Raiders by a 38-26 margin for the game.

SJU controlled play for a majority of the first period, totaling a 10-7 advantage in shots, but MSOE scored two goals in the final minute of the frame. Stuart Harley gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead with 56 seconds left and SJU was whistled for a penalty 37 seconds later, which MSOE took advantage of on a power-play goal from Christian Sabin with one second remaining.

The second period, however, belonged to the Johnnies as the visitors registered a 19-8 advantage in shots, which generated two goals to tie the game at 2-2. Sophomore defenseman Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit in half with a power-play goal, 5-on-3, eight minutes into the second and Auggie Moore '23 tied the contest with 2:48 left before intermission.

Huber took his first collegiate loss as he made 23 saves in the contest.

at Milwaukee School of Engineering 2, Saint John's 0 – Nov. 26, 2022
Matt Hanewall scored a pair of power-play goals 1:26 apart for MSOE in the second period for the game's scoring.

The Johnnies outshot the Raiders once again, 32-25, but went 0-for-4 on the power play to MSOE's 2-for-8 showing. Howe made 23 saves in the loss.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 2-4-1 all-time against the Raiders. The first meeting was a 5-4 win for then-No. 7 SJU in a neutral-site game played on Nov. 28, 2004, in Menomonie, Wis. The Raiders, then-ranked No. 11 nationally, evened the series with a 3-2 overtime win on Dec. 9, 2011, at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. SJU earned a 3-2 victory over then-No. 13 MSOE on Dec. 15, 2012, at the HBNHC. The Raiders, however, have posted a 3-0-1 record against SJU over the past two seasons.