Saint John's hockey hosts Hamline at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud and visits the Pipers for a 5 p.m. puck-drop on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Thursday, Jan. 30 (in St. Cloud): Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

-Saturday, Feb. 1 (in St. Paul): Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (7-10, 4-4 MIAC) split its series with Saint Mary's last weekend as the visiting team prevailed in each contest.

Saint Mary's 4, at Saint John's 1 (Jan. 23)
SJU controlled play in two of the three periods last Thursday night but dropped the series opener in St. Cloud. The Johnnies outshot the Cardinals by a combined 32-9 margin in the first and third periods but struggled to find the back of the net. SJU hit the pipe twice and was denied on a breakaway attempt in the loss.

The home team recorded the first nine shots on goal, in addition to junior forward Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.) clanking the pipe 3:52 in, and ended the first period with a 16-4 advantage but was left off the scoreboard. 

The script flipped for SJU as the Cardinals posted a 17-5 advantage in shots and scored two goals in the second period. Blake Green erased the scoreless draw with sharp-angle shot near the bottom of the right faceoff circle 1:21 into the second period. The visitors then took advantage of an SJU line charge and Laudon Poellinger scored a tic-tac-toe goal on the power play halfway (9:56) through the frame. SMU entered the game fourth in NCAA Division III at 30.8 percent (16-for-52) on the man advantage and went 1-for-4 on the night.

Connor Abric made it 3-0 for the Cardinals with an unassisted goal 2:51 third period before junior defenseman Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) put SJU on the board with his second goal of the season and 30th career point (12g/18a) with 13:52 remaining.

Cooper Smyl ended the game's scoring for the Cardinals with an empty-net goal with 1:23 left.

Junior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 22 saves in the loss. SJU recorded stat advantages in shots on goal (37-26) and faceoffs (37-22), but went 0-for-3 on the power play.

Saint John's 6, at Saint Mary's 0 (Jan. 25)
The Johnnies erupted for four goals in the second period en route to a 6-0 win Saturday night in Winona. Six Johnnies recorded two points or more and senior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made 32 saves for his third collegiate shutout.

Following a scoreless first period, sophomore forward Jacob McPartland (Victoria, Minn.) started the scoring for SJU with his first goal of the season and fifth of his career 3:42 into the second. Senior forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) took a pass from classmate Justin Thompson (Woodbury, Minn.) in the slot, skated to the goaltender's right and feathered a backhanded pass across the blue paint to McPartland on the backdoor.

Sophomore forward Chris Kernan (Maple Grove, Minn.) made it 2-0 with his team-leading sixth goal of the season 5:45 into the period. Sophomore defenseman Sam Berry (St. Louis Park, Minn.) ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle off the SMU goalie's blocker/stick and the rebound flipped into the air to his left and Kernan deflected the rebound to the back of the net.

Kernan added a power-play halfway (10:02) the second and senior captain Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) hammered home a rebound with 15 seconds left in the frame.

Rudrud padded the lead with a 2-on-1 goal from Thompson 4:51 into the third period and Berry ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal, during a 5-on-3 power play, 2:41 later.

SHUTOUT: Huber's was his first of the season and third of his collegiate career. The Cardinals entered the game fourth in NCAA Division III on the power play (30.4 percent/17-for-56) and No. 24 in scoring offense (3.44 gpg.). Huber currently leads the MIAC in both GAA (1.97) and save percentage (.938) in conference play. 

STAT COMPARSIONS: The Johnnies are in the MIAC's top four statistically in all four major categories in conference play.

Scoring Offense
3. SJU, 3.00 gpg. (2.88 overall)
t8. HAM, 2.30 gpg. (2.21 overall)

GAA
2. SJU, 2.35 (2.87 overall)
9. HAM, 3.90 (4.32 overall)

Power Play
4. SJU, 21.1 percent/4-19 (14.3 percent/7-49 overall)
6. HAM, 15.0 percent/6-40 (20.3 percent/15-74)

Penalty Kill
2. SJU, 85.7 percent/18-21 (87.5 percent/42-48) *No. 8 in Division III
9. HAM, 70.6 percent/12-17 (75.0 percent/39-52)

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (6-13, 4-6 MIAC) dropped a pair of games, 5-1 and 3-0, last weekend (Jan. 24-25) to Augsburg. Senior forward Brandon McNamara leads the team with 14 points, thanks to 13 assists, while senior forward Carson Simon (7g/6a) and graduate student Thomas Carls (8g/4a) are next with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Fifth-year goaltender Maximillian Haselbacher has played the most in net (11 starts/16 games and 569:37) and has a 4-7 record with a 4.53 GAA and an .863 save percentage (270 saves). Senior Trevor Wong, a transfer from SJU, is 2-4 with a 3.76 GAA and .871 save percentage (189 saves) in 12 games played (six starts).

LAST SEASON: SJU earned four of the six possible points with a tie and win last season against Hamline.

t-at Saint John's 2, Hamline 2 (OT; Jan. 18, 2024)
The Pipers picked up the extra point in the MIAC standings with a 1-0 win in the shootout on a second-round goal from McNamara.

Thompson gave SJU a fast 1-0 lead with his first goal as a Johnnie 26 seconds into the game. Senior 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 Max Borst '24 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 Howe, but the puck caromed off the end boards and Joe Collins stuffed it across the crease before Howe could secure it.

Rudrud 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.

Saint John's 4, at Hamline 1 (Jan. 19, 2024)
Three of the Johnnies' four goals in last season's win came from freshmen. Following a scoreless first period, sophomore forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) gave SJU the lead with a backhanded shot in front - his third goal of the season - 2:53 into the second frame.

Sophomore forward Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) made it a two-goal game with his seventh goal of the season with 7:35 left in the second. Rudrud chased down a long saucer pass on the left boards and backhanded a pass to Wandmacher, who trailed the play in front of the net.

Thompson (Woodbury, Minn.) padded the lead with a power-play goal, his second tally of the series, at the 10:32 mark of the third period.

Carson Simon ended the shutout for Hamline with a 5-on-3, power-play goal 2:22 later, but sophomore forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn.) ended the game's scoring with an unassisted, empty-net goal - his third tally of the season - with 48 seconds remaining.

Huber made 26 saves to improve his record to 3-5-2 this season.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 59-28-8 against the Pipers since the 1981-82 season, including a 18-6-5 record in the last 29 meetings (7-2-3 at SJU, 8-4-2 at HU and 3-0 at a neutral site).