Saint John's hockey begins conference play by hosting St. Scholastica for the home opener at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The Johnnies then visit Duluth for a 7 p.m. puck-drop on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Mars Lakeview Arena.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Thursday, Nov. 7 in St. Cloud: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Saturday, Nov. 9 in Duluth: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Wisconsin-River Falls broke a 1-1 tie with four-straight goals in the third period to hand Saint John's (0-1 overall) a 5-1, season-opening loss last Saturday night (Nov. 2) in River Falls, Wis. Three of the four goals were scored during a 4:43 span and the fourth was an empty-netter with 57 seconds remaining.

Reid Lune gave the Falcons an early 1-0 lead 4:28 into the game and the contest remained a close 1-0 score until senior forward Cody Carlson (Buffalo, Minn.) tied it with a power-play goal, his fifth career tally, with 13:03 left in the third period.

Cole Teleki scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for UWRF with 8:44 remaining and Jonny Meiers made it 3-1 just 1:34 later. Adisen Brueck extended the lead with 4:01 left and Gibb Coady ended the scoring with the empty-netter, 11 seconds after an SJU power play expired. The Johnnies finished 1-for-5 on the man advantage. 

Senior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made 34 saves in the loss as UWRF recorded a 39-26 advantage in shots.

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (1-0-1 overall) opened the season with a 2-2 tie and 3-2 win in overtime last weekend at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.). Sophomore Hunter Hanson led the way with two goals – one on the power play on Friday and the game-winning in overtime on Saturday – and an assist, while junior Tristan Shewchuk tallied two goals (one shorthanded). Eino Rissanen, a sophomore from Switzerland, played all 126:12 in net with 51 saves (1.90 GAA and a .927 save percentage).

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies dropped both games to then-No. 8 St. Scholastica last season.

St. Scholastica 4, at Saint John's 2 (Nov. 16, 2023)
SJU out-shot CSS by a 34-22 margin, including 14-5 in the third period, but suffered a 4-2 loss in the series opener last Nov. 16 at the HBNHC. The Johnnies hit the pipe twice in the first period and attempted 32 shots in the third (14 on net, 10 blocked and eight wide).

St. Scholastica scored goals on its first two shots on net, both from Jacob Seitz, at 5:27 and 8:55 of the opening period.

Defenseman Jack Olsen '24 put SJU on the scoreboard with his second goal in as many games, his second of the season and sixth of his career, with 3:20 left in the first period.

Nathan Adrian gave CSS a two-goal lead again on a two-man breakaway 1:32 into the second period, five seconds after sophomore forward Chris Kernan (Maple Grove, Minn.) was denied by the Saints' Jack Bostedt on a two-man breakaway for SJU.

Sophomore forward Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.) cut SJU's deficit to 3-2 with his second collegiate goal 6:09 into the third period. He intercepted an errant CSS pass and ripped a wrister past Bostedt from the slot.

Arkhip Ledenkov, however, ended the Johnnies' threat on an empty-net goal with 56 seconds remaining. Junior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 18 saves in the loss.

at St. Scholastica 3, Saint John's 0 (Nov. 18, 2023)
The Johnnies again out-shot the nationally ranked Saints, this time by a 43-20 margin, but failed to find the back of the net in a 3-0 loss on Nov. 18 in Duluth. SJU recorded the game's first nine shots on goal, finishing with a 14-5 advantage, but was whistled for two offensive-zone penalties in the first period. The shot total increased to a 30-8 margin, but CSS' eighth shot on net was a goal for Seitz with 55 seconds left in the second period.

Carsen Richels made it 2-0 with a power-play goal halfway through the third period (10:01) and Isaac Suppin ended the scoring with 45 seconds remaining, nine seconds after SJU killed off a 5-on-3 power play. Huber made 17 saves in the loss. The Johnnies won 50 of the 81 faceoffs and finished 0-for-5 on the power play to the Saints' 1-for-6 showing.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 18-16-2 against St. Scholastica on the ice since 1988, including 9-11-3 this century. CSS has won six of the last eight meetings at the HBNHC.