Top-seeded Saint John's hockey hosts second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus for the MIAC playoff championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video (MIAC PPV) | Tickets

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 (16-6-4, 10-3-3 MIAC) advanced to the MIAC Playoff Championship with a 4-1 win over Bethel on Saturday night (Feb. 28) at the HBNHC. SJU broke a 1-1 tie with the game's final three goals for the victory.

Junior forward Chris Kernan (Maple Grove, Minn.) scored two goals, including what proved to be the game-winner in the second period, and senior goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made a career-high 51 saves to improve to 15-5-4 on the year.

SJU scored first midway through the first period, as assistant captain Conner Couet (St. Michael, Minn.) converted on the power play at the 10:31 mark. The Johnnies set up their unit in the Bethel zone after the faceoff and passed the puck around the perimeter. Couet, junior forward Jack Wandmacher (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and junior forward Jackson Bisson (Edina, Minn.) exchanged passes until the senior defender found a lane to the net, ripping the puck into the top left corner for the first goal of the game and his third of the season.

Connor Brazil tied the game for BU with 2:39 remaining in the frame after he stole the puck from an SJU player in front of his own bench and skated in on net.

Couet started SJU's second scoring play of the night, breaking the puck out of the Johnnies' zone after Howe left it for him at the side of the net. Couet weaved through the neutral zone and dished the puck to Kernan before pulling the Bethel defense with him on the offensive zone entry. Kernan found the middle of the ice and the back of the net for his eighth of the season and the 2-1 lead.

SJU took control of the final period, extending its lead to two halfway through the final frame. Junior forward Cam Boche (Lakeville, Minn.) won a scrum in the corner against two Bethel d-men, moving the puck out to the slot where it missed the first Johnnie, but found a wide-open Kernan for his second of the night. 

Junior forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn.) delivered the punctuation mark, scoring an empty netter from the red line with 1:09 left for the 4-1 final.

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 22-24-3 in MIAC Playoff games, including a 5-6-2 record (4-3-2 in St. Cloud) in the championship game or series. Saturday's showdown is SJU's 11th appearance in the MIAC championship game (or series).

STAT COMPARISONS (ranked by conference play)
Scoring Offense
t2. SJU, 3.75 gpg. (3.77 overall)
t2. GAC, 3.75 gpg. (3.88 overall) 

GAA
1. SJU, 2.32 (2.50 overall)
2. GAC, 2.34 (2.46 overall)

Power Play
4. SJU, 20.8 percent/10-48 (21.1 percent/16-76 overall)
5. GAC, 19.4 percent/13-67 (24.2 percent/24-99 overall)

Penalty Kill
7. SJU, 75.5 percent/40-53 (74.7 percent/65-87 overall)
9. GAC, 71.7 percent/43-60 (76.0 percent/23-96 overall)

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (18-7-1, 12-4-0 MIAC) pulled away for a 6-1 semifinal win over Saint Mary's last Saturday (Feb. 28) in St. Peter. The Gusties' leader in points with 23 (3g/20a), junior forward Drew Holt tied the game at 1-1 with 1:04 left in the first period. Junior forward Grant Ellings scored the second period's lone goal, his first of two on the night. Junior forward Riku Brown matched his season total with two third-period goals, Ellings earned a share of the team-high in goals (11) with his second and sophomore forward Jack Wineman added the sixth goal to extinguish any chance of a Cardinal comeback. Junior netminder Marko Belak is 11-4-0 with two shutouts, a 2.27 GAA and a .913 save percentage (380 saves) this season.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Johnnies and Gusties split their series with the home team winning in overtime early last month.

at Gustavus Adolphus 5, Saint John's 4 (OT; Feb. 6)
SJU earned a critical point in the standings after forcing the game to overtime with a scoreless third period. Gustavus sophomore forward Sam Rice scored the ninth and final goal of the game with 49 seconds left in overtime, beating Howe on a failed poke check.

The Gusties scored early in what became a five-goal first frame, as Wineman beat Howe on a quick rebound that escaped through his legs 3:53 after the opening faceoff. 

Senior captain Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) tied the game and began a flurry of four goals – two for each team – with 3:57 left in the period. Kernan pulled the puck from a scrum on the half-wall and Wandmacher delivered a perfect pass across the slot for Campbell to one-time into the back of the net.

Wineman gave the lead back to GAC 20 seconds later, converting on a 2-on-1 after the center-ice faceoff. Ellings extended the Gusties' lead to 3-1 at the 17:39 mark, taking a long pass to drive the net after beating the SJU defense. 

Sophomore forward Jordan Newpower (Lino Lakes, Minn.) cut the deficit back to one with his seventh goal of the season to end the period down 3-2. Borst created a 3-on-1 with a quick pass and a trip by a Gustie defender at the blue line. Junior forward Logan Lyke (Medina, Minn.), rifled a shot from the right circle, and Newpower gloved the rebound out of the air, played it to his stick and tucked it into the net. 

Wandmacher knotted the game at three apiece with his seventh tally of the season 4:48 after the first intermission. Kernan intercepted a missed Gustavus breakout pass and dished a quick pass to Wandmacher, who sent the puck directly into the right corner of the net.

Bisson gave SJU its first lead of the game with a power-play goal, his seventh tally of the season and 20th of his career, six seconds into the man advantage. After Kernan won the draw for the Johnnies, senior defenseman Conner Couet (St. Michael, Minn.) rifled a shot from the blue line. Kernan tipped the puck in front of the goal to his classmate Bisson, who buried it in the empty net. 

Jayar Luedke scored his own rebound with 3:32 left in the second to tie the game at 4-4, where it would hold for the next 24:11. 

The two teams exchanged power plays to start the third period, including two opportunities with the man advantage for the Johnnies, but all three attempts came up empty. 

Howe ended the game with 31 saves, while Marko Belak made 22 on the other end of the ice for the Gusties. Eight Johnnies had a point in the game, led by Kernan's career-high three assists.

at Saint John's 3, Gustavus Adolphus (OT; Feb. 7)
SJU snapped Gustavus Adolphus' 12-game win streak and earned the weekend split with a 3-2 victory. Kernan survived a long shift in 3-on-3 overtime and picked off a pass and raced down the ice on the breakaway. Chased by one Gustie, he made a move to his forehand and rifled the puck into the bottom right corner for the win and the extra point in the standings.

SJU opened the scoring with Campbell's second goal of the weekend 5:16 into the game. Borst fed the puck to Campbell, who walked the goal line and snuck it above the shoulder of Belak. 

Hunter Newhouse tied the game for the Gusties 59 seconds later, deflecting a shot past Howe. 

Sophomore defenseman George Moore III (Little Falls, Minn.) tilted the scales back in favor of the home team with his first collegiate goal at the 13:15 mark of the first. Bisson dropped the puck back for Moore on the zone entry, and Moore's shot ricocheted off a Gustavus defenseman and into the net for a 2-1 lead to end the period. 

Ludvig Mellgren tied the game once more 6:53 into the second, cashing in on a one-timer from the top of the circle. 

The two teams played a scoreless third period to force overtime the second night in a row. GAC out-shot the Johnnies 14-3 in the third period but failed to muster a shot on goal in the extra period. 

Kernan's unassisted tally – the 17th goal of his career – came at 2:33 in OT.

Howe finished the game with 39 saves and 70 on the weekend.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 12-2-1 in the last 15 meetings against the Gusties (16-4-3 in the last 23) and lead the series with a 46-15-10 record since 1995 (28-5-4 in the series at home since the 1992-93 season).

SJU is 5-2 all-time in the MIAC playoffs against GAC, including a 3-0 mark in the championship round – all in St. Cloud. The Johnnies swept the Gusties in 1997's three-game-series format – 4-2 and 5-4 – and earned a 3-2 victory back on March 2, 2013.

-W, 4-2 on March 8, 1997 in St. Cloud (MIAC Championship series)
-W, 5-4 on March 9, 1997 in St. Cloud (MIAC Championship series)
-W, 4-2 on Feb. 28, 2003 in Bloomington (MIAC Semifinals)
-W, 5-3 on Feb. 28, 2008 in St. Peter (MIAC Quarterfinal)
-L, 1-3 on Feb. 25, 2012 in St. Peter (MIAC Semifinals)
-W, 3-2 on March 2, 2013 in St. Cloud (MIAC Championship)
-L, 2-3 on March 1, 2014 in St. Peter (MIAC Semifinals)