Saint John's hockey aims to get back on track when it travels to Wisconsin this weekend for two more non-conference games, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest at Northland on Friday, Jan. 10, in Ashland, Wis. SJU then visits Wisconsin-Superior at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Friday, Jan. 10 (at Northland): Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

-Saturday, Jan. 11 (at Wisconsin-Superior): Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-6, 3-3 MIAC) dropped a pair of close games last weekend at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

Skidmore (N.Y.) 2, at Saint John's 1 (Jan. 3)
Ethan Heidepriem gave the Thoroughbreds a 1-0 lead with 4:06 left in the first period and the score stood until senior defenseman Cooper Anderson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season, and second of his career, 4:41 into the third period. Anderson faked a wrap-around attempt, carried the puck back to the top of the right-faceoff circle and snapped a sharp-angle shot over the goaltender's left shoulder for the game-tying goal.

Jack Strauss, however, scored the game-winning goal for Skidmore on a shot in the slot with traffic in front of the net with 9:30 remaining.

Junior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made 33 saves in the loss for the Johnnies, who were out-shot by a 35-20 margin. SJU mustered only nine shots on goal through the first two periods and one over two power-play chances.

Lake Forest (Ill.) 4, at Saint John's 1 (Jan. 4)
Lake Forest scored four unanswered goals to defeat Saint John's 4-1 on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4).

Following a scoreless first period, senior forward Spencer Rudrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) gave SJU a 1-0 lead when he put away his own rebound for his team-leading fifth goal of the season 3:39 into the second period.

The Johnnies were out-shot by a 40-37 margin and hit the pipe three times.

Jonathon Mead answered for Lake Forest 36 seconds later, however, and Chase Freiermuth added another at the halfway mark (10:27) of the frame.

Connor Scahill extended the Foresters' lead to 3-1 with a 4-on-4 goal 4:50 into the third period and Justin Ross sealed the victory on an empty-netter with 48 seconds remaining.

Junior goaltender Tom Kuriscak (Stillwater, Minn.) took the loss in his first collegiate start (second appearance) and made 36 saves.

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-UWS, 3.57 gpg.
-SJU, 2.36 gpg.
-NC, 0.92 gpg.

GAA
-UWS, 1.77 *No. 8 in Division III
-SJU, 2.53
-NC, 5.46

Power Play
-SJU, 15.4 percent (4-for-26)
-UWS, 9.6 percent (5-for-52)
-NC, 7.0 percent (3-for-43)

Penalty Kill
-SJU, 89.7 percent (26-for-29) *No. 6 in Division III
-UWS, 87.8 percent (43-for-49) *No. 17 in Division III
-NC, 69.3 percent (52-for-75)

A LOOK AT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northland (0-13, 0-6 WIAC) dropped a pair of non-conference games against MIAC opponents, St. Scholastica (8-0) and Bethel (3-1), last weekend (Jan. 3-4, respectively). Sophomore forward Logan Gallagher leads the team in goals (5) and points (5), while freshman forward Joe Weber is next with two goals and four points. Sophomore goaltender Andrew Yocum is 0-6 with a team-best 5.37 GAA and an .883 save percentage (242 saves).

LAST SEASON: SJU topped Northland 5-1 for its first win of the 2023-24 season back on Nov. 4 (2023) at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. The Johnnies scored the game's first four goals, including two from sophomore forward Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) in the second period.

Sophomore forward Jacob McPartland (Victoria, Minn.) opened the scoring with his first collegiate goal at the 17:12 mark of the first period. Wandmacher followed suit with his first goal in an SJU sweater 48 seconds into the second period and added his second with 6:27 left in the frame. 

Senior forward Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) made it 4-0 just 1:18 after Wandmacher's second tally before the LumberJacks erased the shutout with a rebound goal at the 15:22 mark.

Junior defenseman Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) ended the game's scoring with a power-play goal - ending the Johnnies' drought to start the season (now 1-for-11) - halfway through the third period (10:37).

Senior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) made 23 saves to even his season record at 1-1. The Johnnies posted a 40-24 advantage in shots.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 9-0 all-time against Northland: 5-0 on the Lumberjacks' home ice, 3-0 at the HBNHC and 1-0 at the MAC.

A LOOK AT THE YELLOWJACKETS: Wisconsin-Superior (10-3-1, 5-1-0 WIAC) extended its win streak to six games with a pair of victories to claim the 59th annual Codfish Bowl Tournament last weekend at UMass-Boston. UWS defeated Fitchburg State (Mass.) 2-0 on Friday (Jan. 3) and earned the title with a 5-2 win over the host Beacons on Saturday (Jan. 4). Freshman forward Ikki Kogawa leads the team in assists (9) and points (13), while senior forward Reed Stark touts a team-best eight goals and is second with 12 points. Sophomore forward Justin Dauphinais is third in points with 11 (7g/4a). Three goaltenders have combined for a 1.77 GAA and a .941 save percentage so far this season, led by sophomore Jack Boschert's 4-1 record, 1.89 GAA and .935 save percentage (145 saves). UWS hosts Concordia Friday night before SJU visits Wessman Arena Saturday.

THREE YEARS AGO: Saint John's saw its six-game win streak come to an end the last time these two teams met with a 3-2 overtime loss at Wisconsin-Superior on Jan. 14, 2022.

The 3-on-3 overtime switched to a 4-on-3 power play for Superior 1:05 into the extra session and Reed Stark scored the game-winner on the man advantage 1:26 later.

Nick Michel '23 gave SJU, which was playing its first game since Dec. 11, a 1-0 lead on a breakaway goal with 8:52 left in the first period. The goal was his seventh of the season.

Dylan Johnson tied the game at 1-1 with his 11th goal of the season, a deflection in front, 9:44 into the second period and Artur Terchiyev gave the home team the lead with 6:54 remaining in the game.

Max Borst '24 tied the game, however, 1:01 later. A shot from Jack Johnson '23 was saved by the UWS goaltender, but the loose puck squirted in front of the crease to Borst, who stuffed it home for his fourth goal of the season.

Goaltender Mac Berglove '21 made a season-high 47 saves in the loss, his first since Nov. 18.

UWS recorded a 50-30 advantage in shots and went 1-for-3 on the power play, to the Johnnies' 0-for-4 showing.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies have won four of the last six meetings overall. The loss in 2020 snapped a four-game win streak (2013-17) for SJU in the series, which followed a stretch of three straight wins for UWS (2007-10).