The Johnnie hockey team returns to the ice by hosting a pair of non-conference games this Friday-Saturday (Jan. 3-4) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. SJU faces Skidmore (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by a 4 p.m. puck-drop against Lake Forest (Ill.) on Saturday.

LIVE COVERAGE (Both Games): Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-4, 3-3 MIAC) picked up one point in the MIAC standings with a pair of losses, one in regulation and another in overtime, against Bethel back on Dec. 5-6.

Bethel 4, at Saint John's 1
Bethel scored three unanswered goals to top Saint John's back on Dec. 5 in St. Cloud. Tyler Braccini gave the Royals a quick 1-0 lead with his team-leading seventh goal of the season, a wrister from the left faceoff circle, on the visitors' first shot attempt 1:33 into the game.

Sophomore forward Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.) tied the game at 1-1 for SJU with his third goal of the season five minutes in. Senior forward Justin Thompson (Woodbury, Minn.) ripped a shot in the slot off the BU goaltender, and off the pipe, to Lyke on the left side of the net.

BU gained a 3-1 lead with two goals in the second period. Jack Brown unleashed a sharp-angle shot near the end line that hit off the net and trickled over the crossbar off junior goaltender Jon Howe's (Chanhassen, Minn.) back and into the net 8:52 into the frame.

Max Hamstad gave the Royals a two-goal cushion with a 2-on-1 goal, his first of the season, with 1:08 remaining in the second and Shane Lavelle ended the scoring with 5:07 left in the game.

Howe made 30 saves in the loss, his first of the season (3-1 record), as SJU posted a 37-34 advantage in shots.

at Bethel 3, Saint John's 2 (OT)
Bethel scored the game-winning goal with 1.9 seconds remaining in the 3-on-3 overtime to defeat Saint John's 3-2 on Dec. 6 at the Super Rink in Blaine.

Braccini scored the 2-on-1 goal for BU, seconds after sophomore forward Cam Boche (Lakeville, Minn.) was denied on a grade A opportunity for SJU, which picked up a point in the MIAC standings with the overtime loss.

BU gained a 2-0 lead with a pair of seeing-eye pucks in the first period. Matt Berezowski scored the first goal with a sharp-angle shot over the shoulder of senior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) with 8:36 left in the opening frame and Joe Kelly made it 2-0 with a spin-around wrister from the right faceoff circle with 3:14 left.

Junior defenseman Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) cut the Johnnies' deficit in half with six seconds left in the second on a sharp-angle shot near the right corner that found its way over the crease for his first goal of the season and 11th of his collegiate career.

Junior defenseman Zach Enebak (Lakeville, Minn.) tied the game at 2-2 with his first collegiate goal 4:37 into the third period. Boche ripped a shot in the slot and the rebound went to Enebak for an easy backhanded shot to the open net.

Huber made a season-high 42 saves in the loss. BU posted a 45-25 advantage in shots and were awarded the game's lone power play in the second period.

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-SKID, 3.55 gpg.
-LF, 3.30 gpg.
-SJU, 2.67 gpg.

GAA
-SJU, 2.42
-SKID, 3.00
-LF, 3.85

Power Play
-LF, 21.4 percent/9-for-42
-SKID, 21.4 percent/9-for-42
-SJU, 18.2 percent/4-for-22

Penalty Kill
-SJU, 87.5 percent/21-for-24 (No. 17 in Division III)
-LF, 75.7 percent/28-for-37
-SKID, 73.5 percent/25-for-34

A LOOK AT THE THOROUGHBREDS: Skidmore (6-5, 5-3 NEHC) split a pair of games (L, 3-6 and W, 4-0) UMass-Boston back on Dec. 6-7. Freshman forward Evan Brown (3g/8a) and senior defenseman Danny Magnuson (2g/9a) lead the team with 11 points apiece, while freshman forward Coleman Jenkins (4g/6a) and senior forward Zach Lindewirth (5g/5a) each have 10. Brown and Lindewirth each boast a pair of game-winning and power-play goals. Junior goaltender Joshua Seeley is 5-3 with a 2.93 GAA and an .888 save percentage (182 saves) in eight starts.

SERIES HISTORY: Friday's game is the first meeting between SJU and Skidmore on the ice.

A LOOK AT THE FORESTERS: Lake Forest (4-5-1, 1-4-1 NCHA) snapped a six-game winless skid (0-5-1 record) with a current three-game streak thanks to a pair of victories over Skidmore (5-4) and Fredonia State (4-0) Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Thoroughbreds' Thanksgiving tournament. Freshman forward Trevor Faucher (5g/4a) and junior forward Phillip Quetell (2g/7a) lead the Foresters with nine points apiece, while junior forward Colin Bella has a team-best seven goals and is next with eight points (7g/1a). Senior goaltender Bobby McCloskey has started five of the team's 10 games and is 4-1 with a 3.01 GAA and an .894 save percentage (126 saves). LF visits St. Olaf Friday night before making the trip Saturday to St. Cloud.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 5-1 all-time against the Foresters, including a 3-0 record in St. Cloud. Saturday's game is the first between the two schools on the ice since Nov. 7, 2008 (a 3-1 SJU win in Lake Forest, Ill.).