Saint John's hockey begins its final series of the regular season vs. St. Olaf at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC) in St. Cloud. The Johnnies visit the Oles for a 5 p.m. puck-drop on Saturday, Feb. 11, in Northfield.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Friday, Feb. 10: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video
-Saturday, Feb. 11: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live 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 STUDENT BUS FOR 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 p.m. (then a pickup from Flynntown at 6:05 p.m.) and leaves CSB's HCC at 6:20 p.m.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-9-2, 8-5-1 MIAC) played Saint Mary's to a series split last weekend.

at Saint John's 2, Saint Mary's 0 (Feb. 2)
SJU opened the series with a 2-0 shutout on Thursday night (Feb. 2) at the HBNHC. Sophomore goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) stopped all 31 shots for his second shutout of the season and improved his record to 10-3-2 (7-2-1 MIAC). The effort was not easy, however. Huber and the Johnnies killed off six minutes on the penalty kill, over a 6:28 span in the third period, including 36 seconds of a 5-on-3 for the Cardinals (9-10-1, 5-6-0 MIAC). In addition to that, SMU played the final 3:07 of regulation with the goaltender pulled. The visitors used the advantage for a 15-6 shot margin, but could not score.

Junior forward Max Borst (Edina, Minn.) gave SJU an early 1-0 lead on a rebound goal, his eighth tally of the season, off a shot on goal from sophomore forward Jackson Sabo (Rosemount, Minn.), 5:40 into the game.

Freshman defenseman Michael Spinner (Prior Lake, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a two-goal cushion with his first collegiate goal after senior forward Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) found him all alone in front.

at Saint Mary's 7, Saint John's 3 (Feb. 4)
The Johnnies settled for the weekend split with a 7-3 loss on Saturday (Feb. 4) in Winona. SJU amassed 17 shots on goal with a man advantage but went 0-for-8 on the power play. To make matters worse, Saint Mary's went 3-for-7 on the power play and SJU's lineup was without four starting forwards – Borst, Sabo, sophomore Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) and senior Nick Michel (Waconia, Minn.) – due to injuries suffered in Thursday's win in St. Cloud. The quartet has combined for 58 points (28g/30a), including 15 (9g/6a) on the power play, this season.

The loss ended the Johnnies' seven-game win streak at SMU Ice Arena (first since 2013).

After the Cardinals found the scoreboard first halfway through the first period, SJU gained a 2-1 lead with goals from senior forward Dan Wieber (St. Joseph, Minn.) and freshman forward Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.). SMU, however, scored four-straight goals – including three in the second period – to build a 5-2 lead. A defensive-zone turnover led to the game-tying goal and SMU scored the first of its three power-play tallies 1:22 later.

Spinner cut the deficit to 5-3 with 11:28 left in the third period, but the Cardinals scored two power-play goals 2:02 apart to seal the win. SJU was whistled for five penalties in the third period alone, including two on the same rush to give SMU a 5-on-3 for a full two minutes with 9:17 remaining. Huber made 25 saves in the loss as SJU outshot SMU, 36-32.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU holds the statistical edge over St. Olaf in three of the four major categories in conference play.

Scoring Offense
3. SJU, 3.64 gpg. (3.26 overall)
6. STO, 2.75 gpg. (3.14 overall)

Scoring Defense
4. SJU, 2.79 gpg. (2.48 overall)
8. STO, 3.67 gpg. (3.24 overall)

Power Play
5. SJU, 21.1 percent/12-57 (22.4 percent/22-98 overall)
7. STO, 16.0 percent/8-50 (16.5 percent/14-85 overall)

Penalty Kill
7. STO, 74.5 percent/35-47 (76.2 percent/61-80 overall)
9. SJU, 63.2 percent/24-38 (69.9 percent/51-73 overall)

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (11-9-1, 5-7-0 MIAC) is coming off its bye, which came at a good time as the Oles have lost each of their last four games: 7-4/4-2 to league-leading St. Scholastica (Jan. 20-21) and 5-2/5-2 to Concordia (Jan. 27-28). Prior to the four-game skid, STO split with Saint Mary's (8-2 home loss and 5-2 road win). Sophomore forward Troy Bowditch leads the team in assists (16) and points (25), while sophomore forward Tyler Cooper has 11 goals, including five on the power play, and 16 points. Junior goaltender Lukas Haugen has started 10 of the team's 21 games in net and is 6-2-1 with a 2.82 GAA and a .900 save percentage (215 saves).

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies swept the Oles in the regular-season series, but fell to STO in the MIAC semifinals.

Saint John's 4, at St. Olaf 2 (Feb. 11, 2022)
SJU broke a 2-2 tie with two unanswered goals in the game's final six minutes for a 4-2 win at St. Olaf last Feb. 11 (2022) in Northfield.

DeRosa scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 47 seconds after Tyler Cooper tied it at 2-2 on the power-play for St. Olaf with 6:31 remaining. Wieber sealed the victory for SJU with an empty-net goal, his second tally of the season and 10th of his career, with 1:02 left.

Sabo opened the scoring with his third goal of the season (and sixth point) 4:15 into the game, his eighth as a Johnnie.

The Oles, however, tied the game on a goal from Sean Walsh, his 10th of the season, during a 5-on-3 power-play with 8:35 left in the first period.

Senior captain Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with his 11th goal of the season, on an assist that served as sophomore forward Spencer Rudrud's (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 20th point of the season (5g/15a), with 38 seconds left in the opening frame. 

SJU killed off 59 seconds of another 5-on-3 in the second period. The Johnnies amassed 12 shots on net - as well as three off the pipe - but went 0-for-7 on the power play, to the Oles' 2-for-6 performance.

Goaltender Mac Berglove '21 made 19 saves to move his record to 11-4-2 on the year.

at Saint John's 3, St. Olaf 1 (Feb. 12, 2022)
The Oles gained a quick 1-0 lead on a goal from Sean Walsh on the game's first shot 55 seconds into the contest, but SJU scored the next three goals.

Forward Braden Altena '22 tied the game at 1-1 with a one-timer on the doorstep from sophomore forward Cody Carlson (Buffalo, Minn.), his second goal of the season, 42 seconds later. Sabo made it 2-1 with his fourth goal of the season, a rebound off a shot on goal from Carlson, with 4:23 left in the second period. Junior forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) sealed the win with an empty-net goal, his MIAC-leading 16th tally of the season, with 15 seconds remaining.

Goaltender Michael Magnuson '22 made 25 saves to improve to 4-2 on the year and earn his fifth collegiate win.

SJU out-shot STO by a 39-26 margin, including a 27-13 advantage in the first two periods. Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play.

St. Olaf 3, at Saint John's 1 (MIAC Playoffs; March 2, 2022)
SJU ended its 2021-22 season with a 3-1 loss at the HBNHC. The Johnnies out-shot the seventh-seeded Oles by a 34-20 margin, but collected only five shots on goal in 6:35 on the power play.

SJU recorded nine of the first 11 shots on net, but it was the Oles who found the scoreboard first when Jonathan Young skated around the Johnnies' defense and across the slot for his fifth goal of the season with 7:19 left in the first period.

Following a scoreless second period, senior forward Jack Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.) tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play goal 5:32 into the third.

STO, however, re-gained the lead with a power-play tally from Cooper 1:48 later. 

Noah Heisler iced the game with an empty-netter at the 19:06 mark.

Berglove made 17 saves in the loss to end the season with a 13-6-2 record (30-16-9 career). He ended his career third in program history in GAA (2.18) and fourth in save percentage (.924).

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 53-28-4 against St. Olaf since the 1984-85 season, including a 14-5-1 record in the last 20 meetings overall and a 20-9-3 mark in the last 32 games on the Johnnies' home ice.