Saint John's hockey returns to MIAC action by hosting Hamline at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The two teams conclude the series at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Thursday, Jan. 18 in St. Cloud: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Friday, Jan. 19 in St. Paul: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (6-8-3, 3-5-0 MIAC) closed its non-conference schedule with a 1-0-1 record over the weekend in Wisconsin.

Saint John's 5, at Wisconsin-Stout 2 – Jan. 12
SJU scored the game's final three goals in the third period to gain a 5-2 non-conference win at Wisconsin-Stout last Friday. The two teams combined for 21 penalties – 12 for SJU and nine for Stout – including 14 in the second period alone.

The Blue Devils entered the game fifth in NCAA Division III on the power play (32.2 percent/19-for-59) and ninth in scoring offense (4.13 gpg.), but SJU (6-8-2, 3-5-0 MIAC) held the home team scoreless on six power-play chances on the night.

Kullan Daikawa tied the game at 2-2 for Stout with a 4-on-4 goal 2:18 into the third period. Freshman forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, however, on a delayed penalty 2:02 later. 

Junior forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) padded the lead thanks to a 2-on-1 feed from classmate Cody Carlson (Buffalo, Minn.) with 9:02 left in regulation and freshman forward Cam Boche (Lakeville, Minn.) sealed the victory on an empty-net goal with 2:16 remaining.

Senior co-captain Max Borst (Edina, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season at the 12:56 mark of the first period. Stout's Brandon Connett tied the game 4:19 into the second period and junior defenseman Danny Eckerline (Orono, Minn.) gave SJU its second lead of the contest with his first goal of the season - second of his career - with 1:50 left in the frame.

Sophomore goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 31 saves to improve to 4-3-1 this season.

t-Saint John's 1, at then-No. 8 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 1 (OT) – Jan. 13
Junior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made 44 saves and held then-No. 8 Wisconsin-Stevens Point scoreless over the game's final 61:51 in a 1-1 tie on Saturday night.

Noah Finstrom gave the Pointers a quick 1-0 lead 3:09 into the game, but freshman Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) tallied the game-tying goal at the 14:15 mark of the opening frame, 17 seconds after SJU killed off back-to-back penalties. 

Huber made 43 saves after the Pointers' first-period goal, including 18 in the third period, to move his record to 2-5-2.

SUCCESS IN THE NEW YEAR: Saint John's is 3-0-1 (2-0-0 MIAC) so far in 2024. The post-holiday success is nothing new for the Johnnies, however, as SJU is 113-75-20 (.591) in regular-season games under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller (since 2008-09), including a 95-52-16 record (.632) in MIAC play. Since the 2018-19 season, the Johnnies are 42-21-8 (.648) overall and 35-13-6 (.704) in conference games after the holidays.

STAT COMPARISONS: The Johnnies hold the statistical advantage in all four major categories in MIAC play, including the top-ranked penalty kill.

Scoring Offense
6. SJU, 2.75 gpg. (2.47 overall)
9. HU, 1.83 gpg. (2.60 overall)

Scoring Defense
5. SJU, 2.88 gpg. (2.47 overall)
9. HU, 3.33 gpg. (3.00 overall)

Power Play
7. SJU, 10.0 percent/3-for-30 (7.8 percent/5-for-64 overall)
8. HU, 4.2 percent/1-for-24 (12.1 percent/7-for-58 overall)

Penalty Kill
1. SJU, 91.2 percent/31-for-34 (89.7 percent/61-for-68 overall *No. 5 in Division III)
7. HU, 83.3 percent/20-for-24 (84.3 percent/43-for-51 overall)

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (6-8-1, 2-4-0 MIAC) snapped a 1-6-1 skid by earning a pair of non-conference wins at then-No. 12  Wisconsin-Eau Claire (5-1 on Friday) and Wisconsin-Superior (5-0 on Saturday). HU was outshot 29-18 at UWEC, but scored four goals in the first 11 minutes of the second period. The second period proved to be fruitful again the following night as the Pipers scored all five goals in the middle stanza. Superior posted a 40-22 advantage in shots, but senior goaltender Maximillian Haselbacher stopped all 40 shots for the shutout. Senior forward Bailey Sommers leads the team in points with 11 (5g/6a), while junior defenseman Jordon Halverson (4g/6a) and freshman forward A.J. Carls (3g/7a) are next with 10 apiece. Haselbacher is 4-5-1 with a 2.83 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: The two teams split last season's series with home wins.

at Saint John's 6, Hamline 3 – Jan. 19, 2023
SJU scored four unanswered goals in the final 7:25 of the third period, including two with an empty net, to defeat Hamline 6-3 at the HBNHC.

Eleven Johnnies recorded a point, led by Max Borst, Rudrud and junior forward Jackson Sabo (Rosemount, Minn.) with three apiece.

Forward Nick Michel '23 tied the game at 3-3 for SJU with his team-leading 13th goal of the season – during a scrum in front of the net – at the 12:35 mark. Borst tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal, a rebound off the initial shot from Rudrud, 3:22 later.

Sabo and forward Henry Enebak '23 sealed the win with an empty-net goal each in the final 1:28.

SJU recorded the game's first 11 shots on goal, with the 11th serving as sophomore defenseman Mason Campbell's (Rosemount, Minn.) sixth goal of the season (15th point) 11:10 into the contest. 

The Pipers tallied their first shot on net with eight minutes left in the opening frame and gained a 2-1 lead on their third and fourth shots. Sam Dabrowski knotted the game at 1-1 at the 12:31 mark and Carson Simon gave the visitors the lead 12 seconds into a power play.

Borst tied the game at 2-2 with his fifth goal of the season, and 10th of his career, on a give-and-go from Sabo with 1:56 remaining. The Johnnies posted a 21-6, first-period advantage in shots.

Joe Collins gave the lead back to HU with a 5-on-3, power-play goal 3:19 into the second period. The Johnnies gained a five-minute power play at the 12:55 mark but mustered only four shots on goal.

Huber made 21 saves to improve his record to 8-2-2 (5-1-1 MIAC).

The Pipers, who entered the game eighth in the MIAC on the power play at 9.1 percent (2-for-22) in conference play, went 2-for-3 to the Johnnies' 0-for-4 showing. SJU nearly doubled HU in shots, 42-24.

at Hamline 4, Saint John's 1 – Jan. 21, 2023
The Johnnies outshot Hamline by a 49-14 margin, including a 26-2 advantage in the third period, but suffered a 4-1 loss in St. Paul.

The Pipers went 2-for-3 on the power play and the Johnnies hit the pipe twice. HU's power play finished 4-for-6 on the weekend.

Kohl Hedquist gave HU a 1-0 lead 6:23 into the game and the Johnnies were whistled for a penalty on the scoring play, which the Pipers took advantage of on a goal from Andrew Erwin 44 seconds into the man advantage.

Senior forward Lewis Crosby (Edina, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit in half with a power-play goal – SJU's first since Dec. 10 – with 2:20 left in the frame.

Jordon Halverson padded the Pipers' lead with a power-play goal halfway (9:36) through the second period and Sam Dabrowski ended the game's scoring 5:42 into the third.

Huber made 10 saves in the loss, his first since Dec. 2 (an 8-3-2 season record).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 58-28-7 against the Pipers since the 1981-82 season, including a 17-6-4 record in the last 27 meetings (7-2-2 at SJU, 7-4-2 at HU and 3-0 at a neutral site).