Top-seeded Saint John's hockey hosts fourth-seeded Bethel in the MIAC semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WMIN-1010 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video (MIAC PPV)

FIRST 200 CSB+SJU STUDENTS: Thanks to the CSB+SJU student senates, the first 100 Johnnies and the first 100 Bennies with ID will receive free admission to the game.

TICKET INFORMATION: Fans wishing to attend the game must purchase tickets online. The rate is $12 for adults and $3 for any student (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes are honored. No other passes are accepted. – Purchase Online Tickets

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (15-6-4, 10-3-3 MIAC) earned the No. 1 seed in the MIAC playoffs with a sweep Concordia on Feb. 19 and 21. 

at Saint John's 2, Concordia 1 (Feb. 19)
The reigning MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week at the time, senior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made double-digit saves in each period and the fourth line accounted for all of SJU's points to lift the Johnnies to victory.
 
Joseph Harguindeguy gave Concordia the first lead 7:07 into the opening frame when he kicked the rebound to himself after a shot from the point and tapped it around Howe.
 
Freshman defenseman Cashen Naeve (Independence, Minn.) evened the score with his fourth goal of the season seven minutes later. Senior forward Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.) kept the puck in the zone for the Johnnies and dished a pass to the half-wall for junior forward Jacob McPartland (Victoria, Minn.). McPartland sent a shot off Concordia goaltender Philippe De Champlain and the rebound bounced right to Naeve, who rifled his shot from the circle to the top corner.
 
The Johnnies' fourth line swung the lead in favor of the home team for what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 12:51 mark of the second. Freshman forward Seth Terhell (Cambridge, Minn.) won his offensive zone faceoff to McPartland on the wing, who walked below the goal line and faked the Cobber defense with a pass back to his center. Terhell gathered the give-and-go and dished it back to his center. Terhell, like his classmate Naeve, sent his shot ricocheting through the top corner of the net.
 
Howe held the Johnnies' lead with five saves in less than a minute, including consecutive stops on a 2-on-1 and a Cobber breakaway. 
 
SJU was whistled for a five-minute major at the 15:37 mark in the third period. Part of the kill was alleviated with a Concordia penalty 1:30 into the five-minute call, but SJU was called for a penalty once more with 24 seconds remaining in the major. 
 
The Johnnie penalty kill held through the 5-on-3, getting sprawling saves from Howe and a crucial blocked shot from freshman forward Jordan Larkee (St. Paul, Minn.) in the crease to maintain their lead.
 
Howe added four saves after Concordia pulled its goaltender for the extra skater in the final 45 seconds of the game and finished with 38 stops on the night.

Saint John's 4, at Concordia 2 (Feb. 21)
Saint John's scored the game's final three goals to complete the sweep of Concordia with a 4-2 victory.
 
Down 2-1, Terhell started the comeback with his third goal of the season with 57 seconds left in the second period. Terhell entered the zone on a 2-on-1 with senior forward Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.), who forced the Cobber defender to play the pass. Terhell took the shot from the circle and followed up with his own rebound to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the final intermission. 
 
Junior forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) gave SJU its first lead of the game with his ninth goal of the season 1:07 into the third period. After sophomore forward Jordan Newpower (Lino Lakes, Minn.) won the offensive-zone faceoff, senior defenseman Conner Couet (St. Michael, Minn.) launched a shot from the point that Bisson tipped into the net.
 
Freshman forward Carter Krenke (Bloomington, Minn.) sealed the win, the team's 11th since Christmas (11-4-1 record), and the MIAC title with an empty-net goal with 33 seconds remaining. The goal tied Krenke with junior forward Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.) for the team lead with 11.
 
Matthew Hard gave Concordia a 1-0 lead 9:25 into the contest.
 
Freshman forward Tyler Smith (Carver, Minn.) tied the game at 1-1 with his third goal of the season 36 seconds into the second period. Senior captain Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) sent a long pass down the ice that was deflected and bounced off the end boards. The Cobber goaltender stepped out of his crease to push the puck away but missed, allowing Smith to rifle the one-timer into the net uncontested.
 
Caden Triggs pushed the lead back to CC's favor with a shorthanded goal, his 13th tally of the season, at the 12:10 mark of the second period.
 
Howe made 37 saves to improve his season record to 14-5-4. The 14 wins are the most for a Johnnie goaltender in a season since Saxton Soley '16 in 2013-14 (14-8-0 record).
 
Couet finished the game with two assists, three shots and a +3 rating. Eight other Johnnies had a point in the contest. 

HOWIE DO IT: Howe went 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .962 save percentage (75 saves) as SJU swept Concordia last weekend to win the MIAC regular-season title. He made 38 saves as the Johnnies were outshot 39-23 in a tight, 2-1 win on Thursday in St. Cloud and stopped 37 shots in Saturday's title-clinching, 4-2 victory in Moorhead. He boasts a 1.79 GAA and a .950 save percentage (170 saves) during the Johnnies' current five-game win streak. Howe led the MIAC with a 2.27 GAA, among goalies with 675 minutes or more, and tied for the league lead with a .933 save percentage, among those with 300 saves or more, in conference play. His 14 wins this season (14-5-4 record) are the most for a Johnnie goaltender since Saxton Soley '16 in 2013-14 (14-8-0 record).

CONFERENCE TITLE: SJU clinched its 10th MIAC regular-season championship and first since 2020 with last weekend's sweep of Concordia. The regular-season title was the third for head coach Doug Schueller and the fourth overall (2013 MIAC playoff championship). 

SJU'S MIAC PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Johnnies are making their eighth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last 10 seasons and 26th overall (established for the 1985-86 season). SJU is 21-24-3 in MIAC Playoff games.

STAT COMPARISONS 
Scoring Offense
2. SJU, 3.75 gpg. (3.76 overall)
4. BU, 3.19 gpg. (3.11 overall)

GAA
1. SJU, 2.32 (2.55 overall)
6. BU, 2.67 (2.63 overall)

Power Play
4. SJU, 20.8 percent/10-48 (20.3 percent/15-74 overall)
6. BU, 19.2 percent/10-52 (17.4 percent/15-86 overall)

Penalty Kill
5. BU, 76.9 percent/40-52 (78.4 percent/69-88 overall)
7. SJU, 75.5 percent/40-53 (74.1 percent/63-85 overall)

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (14-11-1, 9-7-0 MIAC) won the MIAC quarterfinal against St. Olaf 5-2 on Wednesday night (Feb. 25) at the Super Rink in Blaine. The Royals outshot St. Olaf by an 80-52 margin (55-32 in shots on goal) and beat Ole freshman goaltender Ryan Nolan four times. Junior forward Joe Westlund scored twice for Bethel – once on the power play and the other the game-winner – and three other Royals tallied two points. Reigning MIAC Defensive Player of the Week Austin Ryman made 30 saves. Senior forward Tyler Braccini leads the Royals with 30 points this season (17g/13a), followed by Westlund with 19 (9g/10a) and senior defenseman Spencer Kring (6g/9a). Ryman has seen the most time in net, posting a 2.41 GAA with a .924 save percentage and two shutouts (10-5-0 record). 

THIS SEASON'S MEETINGS: The visiting team earned the victory in this year's series split back in December.

Bethel 3, at Saint John's 2 (Dec. 4)
SJU dominated the third period but could not score the equalizer in a 3-2 loss to Bethel back on Dec. 4 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. 
The Johnnies recorded a 46-22 advantage in shots, 37-13 after the first period, and won 39 of the 58 faceoffs in the loss.
 
BU book-ended the first period with a pair of goals for an early cushion. Jack Brown took advantage of a power play and a pair of cross-zone passes to put Bethel up 3:56 into the game. Joe Kelly doubled the lead with 4:24 left in the first frame as Jeremiah Konkel fed him a pass across the crease of SJU's Howe on a makeshift 2-on-1 on the zone entry.
 
Newpower cut the lead in half just 51 seconds into the second period with his third goal of the season. After senior forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn.) kept the puck in the zone, Lyke sent a pass across the ice for Newpower to capitalize on.
 
SJU narrowly missed two scoring opportunities later in the second period, as Naeve nicked the pipe with 7:44 left and McPartland unleashed a shot on net that found its way through BU goaltender Austin Ryman but trickled just wide of the pipe with 2:48 remaining in the frame.
 
Westlund's goal with 47 seconds left in the second period proved to be the dagger, as an SJU turnover behind the net gave Peyton Blair a clear pass to Westlund in the slot for a 3-1 lead at the second intermission. 
 
Bisson broke the Johnnies' power play drought with a quick goal line shot off a backdoor feed from junior forward Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) 3:23 into the third period. Lyke picked up the second assist on Bisson's third of the season after setting the play from behind the net.
 
SJU out-shot BU 22-3 in the third period (36-6 attempted) and pulled Howe for the extra skater with 1:26 left in the game, but the Johnnies managed just one shot on goal for the remainder of the game.
 
Howe made 19 saves in the loss, his first of the season (3-1-3 record). 
 
Saint John's 6, at Bethel 4 (Dec. 6)
SJU earned a series split with Bethel thanks to a 6-4 win at the Super Rink in Blaine. Three Johnnies – Borst, Wandmacher and Krenke – each scored two goals to help the Johnnies earn their first outright win over the Royals since Dec. 1, 2022. 
 
Bethel scored first, taking a 1-0 lead halfway into the first period. Krenke evened the score just under four minutes later, but any Johnnie first period momentum was extinguished by Bethel two minutes later, as the home team took a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
Krenke netted his second of the game 7:17 into the second to even the score. Borst gave SJU its first lead of the game just over a minute later, but Bethel took advantage of a power play opportunity to set the game at three apiece late in the second. 
 
Wandmacher's first of the night came at an opportune time, shifting the momentum in favor of SJU heading into the third period with a 4-3 lead. 
 
He added his second of the day on the power play halfway through the third period, and while Bethel converted on another power play in the third, Borst put the game out of reach with less than a minute to play to earn the split. 
 
Howe made 36 saves – including 17 in the second period – for his fourth win of the season.
 
Junior forward Chris Kernan (Maple Grove, Minn.) finished with a pair of helpers alongside the two-goal scorers. Krenke led the team with five shots on goal of 29, which paled in comparison to Bethel's 40 on the night.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 24-15-1 against BU under the direction of Schueller (12-7-0 at the HBNHC) and 17-7-1 in the last 25 meetings overall (21-7-1 in the last 30). Saturday's showdown is the first playoff meeting between the Johnnies and Royals since the MIAC modified the playoff-tournament structure. The two programs squared off in the 2001 MIAC Playoff Championship during the conference's "mini-game" format. SJU won that series and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.