Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Saint John's hockey and Hamline played to a 2-2 tie on Thursday, Jan. 18, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

The Pipers (6-8-2, 2-4-1 MIAC) picked up the extra point in the MIAC standings with a 1-0 win in the shootout on a second-round goal from Brandon McNamara.

Sophomore forward Justin Thompson (Woodbury, Minn.) gave SJU (6-8-4, 3-5-1 MIAC) a fast 1-0 lead with his first goal as a Johnnie 26 seconds into the game. Junior defenseman Cooper Anderson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) ripped a shot from the left point on net and Thompson swept the rebound to the back of the net. The goal was SJU's fastest to start a game since senior co-captain Max Borst (Edina, Minn.) lit the lamp 16 seconds into the eventual 4-4 tie against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) on Nov. 7, 2021, in St. Cloud.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Pipers tallied the equalizer 1:46 later. Derek Becklin sent a shot wide to the left of sophomore goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.), but the puck caromed off the end boards and Joe Collins stuffed it across the crease before Howe could secure it.

Junior forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) gave the lead back to SJU with his fourth goal of the season, and 10th of his career, with 5:45 left in the second period but HU answered again on a power-play goal from McNamara two seconds into the man advantage with 2:48 remaining in the frame. The power-play goal snapped SJU's penalty kill at 19 in a row.

The Johnnies amassed a 16-5 shot advantage in the third period but could not score the go-ahead goal and finished with a 37-26 margin for the game.

The two teams conclude the series with a 7 p.m. puck-drop on Friday, Jan. 19, at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.