No. 15 Saint John's hockey opens its 2026-27 season by hosting Marian (Wis.) for a pair of games this Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.), Oct. 30-31, at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. – Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: It was a season of memories, a season of milestones.

A season of championships.

For just the fifth time in program history, the Saint John's hockey team swept both the MIAC regular-season and playoff title in 2025-26.

The Johnnies, who finished 10-3-3 in conference play and 17-7-4 overall, won their 10th MIAC regular-season crown and first since 2020, then earned their first MIAC postseason championship (sixth overall) and their first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament (seventh overall) since 2013.

SJU is expected to return 80.1 percent (218 of 272) of its points from last season, including 16 of the 17 game-winning goals.
 
Here's a look at the 2026-27 Johnnies: 

No. 15
SJU was ranked No. 15 in the 2026 DIIIHockeyNews.com Preseason Top 15 poll released Sept. 28. Five total teams in the NCAA West Region were ranked in the top 15, four of which were in the top 10: Aurora ((No. 3), Wisconsin-Stout (No. 4), St. Norbert (No. 6), Adrian (No. 8) and SJU (No. 15). Trine (27), Gustavus Adolphus (12), St. Olaf (7), Saint Mary's (6) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (3) received votes. 

The Johnnies were the first team out of the USCHO.com Division III Coaches' Poll with 20 total votes. Babson (Mass.) was the last team in with 26 votes. 
 
Boss Gnos 
Senior defenseman Parker Gnos (Excelsior, Minn.) was named the team's captain for the 2026-27 season after serving as an assistant captain last season. He appeared in the season's first 16 games with three assists and a +5 rating until he suffered a season-ending injury Jan. 22 at Saint Mary's. 

Despite the shortened season, Gnos was still second on the team with 21 blocked shots. He begins his senior season with 18 points (5g/13a) in 60 career games. 

Three Assistant Captains
Senior forwards Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.), Jacob McPartland (Victoria, Minn.) and Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) will serve as assistant captains alongside Gnos in 2026-27. 

Gotta Lyke That
Lyke led the team with 12 goals and was third with 23 points last season. He was named All-MIAC honorable mention after sharing the team lead with 15 points (5g/10a) in 16 conference games, which ranked seventh among all MIAC skaters. 

Lyke has 44 points (21g/23a) with a +10 rating in 74 career games.

Magic Wandy
Wandmacher tied for the team lead in assists (18) and points (25) in 2025-26. He earned All-MIAC honors after tying Lyke for the team lead with 15 points (4g/11a) and a +10 rating in all 16 conference games. 

He collected five multi-point games, including three against conference opponents. The 2024-25 NovaCare Comeback Athlete of the Year takes the ice this season with 50 points (14g/36a) in 69 career games. 

McParty Time
McPartland played in 27 games last season with nine points (5g/4a). Three of his points – all assists – came in SJU's regular-season-championship-clinching weekend vs. Concordia-Moorhead. He has 26 points (12g/14a) in 72 career games.

Senior Strength 
In addition to the team's four captains, SJU has five other returning seniors and one senior transfer in 2026-27. Forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) led the Johnnies in power-play scoring last season with nine points (4g/5a). He tied for fourth on the team in points (20) and goals (9) in 28 games played and ranked fourth in the MIAC with his four power play goals. He has 43 points (22g/21a) in 72 games.

Forward Chris Kernan (Maple Grove, Minn.) earned All-MIAC and All-Playoff honors after averaging a point-per-game in 14 MIAC contests (5g/9a) last season. He tied for third in the league with a pair of game-winners, was fourth in faceoff wins (117) and sixth in faceoff percentage (.568) in conference play.

Kernan scored three goals in the Johnnies' two MIAC playoff games. He scored SJU's second (GWG) and third goals in the 4-1 semifinal win and started the team's comeback against Gustavus Adolphus with a power-play tally midway through the second period. He had nine points (5g/4a) over his last eight games and ranked fourth on the team with 20 total points (10g/10a) overall. 

Kernan was one of four Johnnies to earn Athlete of the Week honors, a feat he accomplished after totaling four points (1g/3a) and a team-leading seven shots-on-goal against Gustavus in February. He and Lyke shared the team lead with three game-winning goals, one of which was an overtime tally to defeat Gustavus in the series finale.

Forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn.) earned All-MIAC honors after registering 13 points (5g/8a) in conference play. He was one of four Johnnies who played all 28 games last season. He finished with six multi-point games, including four against MIAC opponents, and was second in plus/minus rating (+15). His 25 points (7g/18a) were tied for the team lead. 

Forward Cam Boche (Lakeville, Minn.) anchored a line of freshmen in Carter Krenke (Bloomington, Minn.) and Jordan Larkee (St. Paul, Minn.). The three combined for 47 points (19g/28a), 13 of which came from Boche (5g/8a). 

Defenseman Kasen Sauer (Maple Grove, Minn.) skated in six games with an assist and forward Luke Levandowski (Rosemount, Minn.) joined the team this season as a senior transfer from Division I Lake Superior State. Levandowski totaled 28 points (9g/19a) in 88 games in three seasons with the Lakers. 

Johnnie Juniors
SJU has two juniors on its roster – forward Jordan Newpower (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and defenseman George Moore III. Newpower had 16 points (8g/8a) in 27 games with a +10 rating. Moore was +11 with six points (1g/5a) in 23 games. 

Ready for Year No. 2
Eight sophomores, including goaltender Kyle Abrahamson (Cloquet, Minn.), return to the lineup. 

Krenke led his class last season with 19 points (11g/8a) in 27 games. He was named USCHO All-Rookie honorable mention after scoring the most points by an SJU freshman since 2022 (Spencer Rudrud's '25 20 points). Krenke's 11 goals, meanwhile, were the most by a first-year player since Auggie Moore '23 tallied the same in 2019-20. 

Krenke was first on the team in plus-minus (+17), second in goals (11) and shooting percentage (.169), third in shots (65) and sixth in both points (19) and assists (8). He earned a spot on the All-MIAC team after he scored a team-best nine goals in conference play and tied for the team lead with a +11 rating. His nine goals tied for third overall in the league and were second – by one goal – among MIAC freshmen.

Larkee was next for the newcomers, totaling 15 points (3g/12a) in 15 games. Defenseman Cashen Naeve (Independence, Minn.) was the overtime hero for the Johnnies in February, capping SJU's four-goal comeback over Gustavus in the championship game with his fifth goal of the season. Naeve finished with 11 points (5g/6a) in 25 games on the blueline. He was third on the team in game-winning goals (2) and plus-minus (+14). 

After he finished his football season, forward Tyler Smith (Carver, Minn.) joined the Johnnies for 15 games, totaling six points (3g/3a). He had 16 tackles (12 solo), an interception, four passes defended and a fumble recovery in 11 games with SJU football in 2025. 

Forward Seth Terhell (Cambridge, Minn.) totaled six points (3g/3a) in 22 games played, while Cadyn Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) and Jake Hodd-Chlebeck (Mahtomedi, Minn.) each skated in four games without a point.

A New Netminder
Jon Howe '26 backstopped SJU to both MIAC titles and the NCAA Tournament. He became SJU's first CCM Hockey/American Hockey Coaches' Association (AHCA) All-America first-team selection in 20 years – goaltender Adam Hanna '06 in 2005-06 – and the 25th overall. He finished with a 16-6-4 record – the fourth-most wins in an SJU season – to go with a 2.51 GAA, a .929 save percentage and 869 saves.

Howe started in all but two games last season. Graduated goaltender Tom Kuriscak '26 made 30 saves in a 6-2 loss to eventual national semifinalist UW-Stout and played the final three minutes in SJU's loss to Aurora in the first round of the national tournament. 

Abrahamson is the only goalie on the roster with collegiate experience under his belt, a 35-save shutout of Beloit (Wis.) last January. 

The Johnnies added two freshmen to the roster – Hunter Bauer (Delano, Minn.) and Casimir Weckström (Kokkola, Finland). Bauer most recently played for the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) where he had a 9-6-0 record to go along with a .904 save percentage, 3.12 GAA and 426 saves. He also played eight games (7-1-0 record) for the MJHL's Steinbach Pistons with a 1.51 GAA and .944 save percentage. Weckström ended his second year of hockey in the U.S. with the Amarillo Wranglers of the North American Hockey League. He was 6-8-0 in 17 games with a .901 save percentage and 3.54 GAA.

Other Fresh Faces
Eight freshmen joined the program, in addition to Levandowski as a transfer. Bauer and Weckström added to the goalie staff, while four of the newbies are defensemen and two are forwards. 

All but Bauer played their most recent season in the NAHL. Weckström and freshman defenseman Michael Tarasenko (Heusenstamm, Germany) are the only two non-Minnesotans on the team. 

The 2026-27 Schedule 
The schedule includes 11 home games at St. Cloud State's revamped Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC), including six on Thursday night, and opens with a neutral-site series Oct. 30-31 against Marian (Wis.) at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud.

The non-conference ledger includes home-and-home series with both Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Stout, and an outdoor game against MIAC-foe Bethel on Thanksgiving Eve – Wednesday, Nov. 25 – at the Recreation Outdoor Center in St. Louis Park.

Following the season-opening series against Marian at the MAC, SJU hosts Wisconsin-Superior Nov. 6 for Senior Night at the HBNHC and visits Wisconsin-Eau Claire the following night. The sequence of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opponents continues the following weekend with a Nov. 12 home game against Wisconsin-Stout, which posted a 23-6-1 record and reached the NCAA Frozen Four last season, and a trip to Wisconsin-River Falls two days later.

The Johnnies play host to Concordia Nov. 19 for the MIAC opener and travel to Moorhead Nov. 21 before the non-conference game against Bethel outdoors on Nov. 25. SJU wraps up 2026 with conference series against St. Scholastica (home on Dec. 4) and St. Olaf (home on Dec. 10).

SJU begins the New Year by finishing non-conference play with the return games against Stout – Jan. 8 in Menomonie, Wis. – and Jan. 9 vs. River Falls. SJU returns to league action with a rematch of last season's MIAC semifinal vs. Bethel, including the series' home game for Faith and Family Day – a Sunday matinee on Jan. 17 – to lead into the team's bye week on Jan. 22-23.

The Johnnies end MIAC play with four-straight series against Saint Mary's (home on Jan. 30), Hamline (home on Feb. 5), Gustavus Adolphus (home on Feb. 11) and Augsburg (home on Feb. 18).

The MIAC Playoffs start with the quarterfinal game (No. 4 vs. No. 5) on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the high seed. The MIAC semifinals follow that Saturday, Feb. 27 and the MIAC championship game, which determines the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs, is Saturday, March 6.

A LOOK AT THE SABRES: Marian ended the 2025-26 season with a 9-16-2 record, including an 8-10-0 mark in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). The Sabres return five of their six double-digit point scorers from a season ago. Senior forwards Cole Carlson and Nolan Flint each registered 10 goals and 11 assists, while junior forward Brendan Bottem followed with 19 points (9g/10a). Junior forward Eemil Rautio (8g/10a) and senior forward Caden Carlson (7g/10a) were next with 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Sabres utilized a trio of goalies between the pipes last season and all three return. Junior netminder Nicholas Von Kaufmann was 5-6-2 record with an .887 save percentage (338 saves) and 3.36 GAA, while senior Andreai Proctor-Ramirez went 4-6-0 with an .888 save percentage (238 saves) and a 3.41 GAA. Junior Tyler Fromolz went 0-4-0 with an .823 save percentage (130 saves) and 5.14 GAA in seven games (five starts). 

LAST SEASON: SJU opened its 2025-26 season with a 4-4 tie at Marian last Halloween in Fond du Lac, Wis. MU had a two-goal lead on two occasions, but SJU battled back to tie the game each time in the draw.

SJU forced consistent pressure through the first few minutes of ice time, including a 2-on-1 opportunity that narrowly missed. A pair of rebounds escaped the Johnnie sticks in front of the net and set up a rush for the Sabres the other direction that led to the first penalty of the season for SJU 7:36 into play.

Eemil Rautio took advantage of the extra skater, scoring seven seconds into the power play off the faceoff from a shot from the point that made its way through traffic and past senior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.).

Marian doubled the lead five minutes later, as a hit in the Johnnie zone created a turnover at the top of the faceoff circle. More traffic out front allowed Robert Pizzey to collect his own rebound in the crease for a 2-0 advantage. 

Kernan cut the lead in half six minutes into the second period. A penalty set the Johnnie power play up with possession in the Sabre zone. SJU worked the puck from the point down the wall to the stick of Wandmacher, who delivered a pass from the half wall for Kernan to redirect between the goalie's legs. 

McPartland scored less than a minute later, as a takeaway in the neutral zone set up a 3-on-1 for the Johnnies down the ice. Larkee delivered the pass to McPartland in front of the goal to tie the game at 2-2.

The momentum was extinguished just a few minutes later, as Marian scored back-to-back goals of its own – just 13 seconds apart – to regain the lead. A failed breakout set up Nolan Flint behind the net, who found Brendan Bottem uncontested in the slot. A penalty immediately after the goal gave the Sabres the player advantage once more, rushing the zone on a long pass and scoring off a loose puck that did not get cleared in front.

Boche converted a 4-on-4 opportunity before the end of the period after Sauer intercepted a Sabre breakout to set up the play. Bisson gathered the puck for another odd-man rush and fed Boche across the slot to cut the difference to one heading into the second intermission.

Newpower tied the game at four apiece early in the third period with his first collegiate goal that eventually forced overtime. Borst took the puck away from a Sabre defender behind the net and connected with Newpower in the slot, who rifled a shot into the top-left corner.

SJU directed all the chances for the first few minutes of 3-on-3 extra hockey and was backstopped by Howe, who robbed the Sabres on a 2-player breakaway with 1:54 remaining. A break for the Johnnies the other way gave the visitors a power play for the final 1:34, but they did not convert on five shot attempts.

Marian owned the advantage in shots 49-43 (37-31 on goal), but the Johnnies edged the home team 10-3 (6-3 on goal) in overtime. The Sabres converted on 2 of 4 power-play opportunities to the Johnnies' 1-for-5 showing.

SERIES HISTORY: The series is tied with a 1-1-3 record, with four of the five meetings reaching overtime.

-Jan. 11, 2014: W, 2-1 OT (St. Cloud)
-Nov. 26, 2016: L, 4-5 (St. Cloud)
-Nov. 24, 2017: T, 3-3 OT (Fond du Lac, Wis.)
-Nov. 24, 2018: T, 1-1 OT (St. Cloud)
-Oct. 31, 2025: T, 4-4 OT (Fond du Lac, Wis.)