The 2023–24 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season was the 100th season of play for the program, the 3rd in Division I and the 3rd in the CCHA. The Tommies represented the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), played their home games at the St. Thomas Ice Arena and were coached by Enrico Blasi in his 3rd season.
| 2023–24 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | T–2nd CCHA |
| Home ice | St. Thomas Ice Arena |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | NR |
| USA Hockey | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 15–20–2 |
| Conference | 12–11–1 |
| Home | 8–8–2 |
| Road | 7–11–0 |
| Neutral | 0–1–0 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Enrico Blasi |
| Assistant coaches | Leon Hayward Cory Laylin |
| Captain(s) | Lucas Wahlin |
| Alternate captain(s) | Mack Byers Luke Manning |
| St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey seasons « 2022–23 2024–25 » | |
Season
editHigh roster turnover continued to remake the Tommies as the team was looking to fully become a Division I program. Most of the departed personnel were from their D-III era and were replaced by ones with a higher level of talent, several of whom were transfers. St. Thomas demonstrated just how much they had chanced when the team opened with a pair of 1-goal decisions against #8 St. Cloud State, splitting the home-and-home series. While they weren't quite as successful the following week against the #2 team in the nation, the fact that the team was able to push Minnesota into overtime spoke volumes. One early development for the Tommies was the introduction of a goaltending rotation that saw Aaron Trotter share responsibilities with Niagara transfer Jake Sibell. St. Thomas benefitted from the arrangement and saw the club put together a 5-game winning streak in November to climb to the top of the conference standings.
The offense, too, was looking better through the first two months of the season. While the team had been shutout three times early in the year, the winning streak saw the Tommies' production soar to new heights and make it possible for the team to possess a winning record by December. Unfortunately, the scoring became inconsistent afterwards and the Tommies stumbled to the winter break. In the final seven games of 2023, the offense scored more than 2 goals just once and lost five of those matches.
St. Thomas didn't restart its conference schedule until mid-January but the time off seemed to help the team. Upon their return, the Tommies swept Michigan Tech for the first time in school history and regained the top spot in the conference.[1] However, after splitting the succeeding two weekend series, the team ran into another rough patch. In February the goaltending began to flag and St. Thomas won just once in their final eight games. The losses cost the Tommies their chance at a regular season title but they still managed to finish 2nd. Unfortunately, injuries played a large part in the second half of the season for the Tommies. They began to rack up in December and continued consistently the rest of the year. This forced defensemen Jase Sofo and Braidan Simmons-Fischer to play out of position at forward beginning in January. By the time the CCHA playoffs began, 8 players were injured and unable to play, and St. Thomas only had 17 healthy skaters (non-goalies) available to dress, when teams are permitted to play up to 19 for a game.
The team's reward was a meeting with Lake Superior State and their first home playoff game since joining the CCHA. However, despite their position in the standings, St. Thomas was not heavily favored in the series. Aside from the skid to end the season, the Tommies only had one more win than the Lakers in conference play and actually had a (slightly) worse overall record. The teams then demonstrated their similarity by splitting the first two games in the quarterfinals to set up a deciding third game. St. Thomas was able to use its power play to get two 1-goal leads and carried the advantage deep into the third but they could not sustain their edge. Both teams continued to fight for the next goal over the final nine minutes of the game. Just when it appeared that the match was destined for overtime, Lake Superior got on a rush and fired a strong shot on goal. Trotter made a tremendous save but the puck bound high in the air and fell at the feet of a Laker player standing in the crease. He slammed the rubber home before any of the purple defenders could stop him and gave Lake State the winning marker with under 7 seconds to play.[2]
In spite of the heartbreaking end, St. Thomas had made great strides during the season. The Tommies had seen modest improvements on both offense and defense and, with more than have of the roster comprising underclassmen, the program has the potential to continue their ascent.
An exhibition match against USNTDP that was scheduled for January 27 was cancelled.[3]
Departures
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Baribeau | Goaltender |  United States |
Graduation (retired) |
| Garrett Daly | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (retired) |
| Josh Eernisse | Forward | United States |
Transferred to Michigan |
| Matt Jennings | Forward | United States |
Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder) |
| Andrew Kangas | Forward | United States |
Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder) |
| Luke Kron | Forward | United States |
Left program |
| Trevor LeDonne | Defenseman |  Canada |
Transferred to Robert Morris |
| Jarrett Lee | Forward | United States |
Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers) |
| Luke Perunovich | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (retired) |
| Ethan Roberts | Goaltender | United States |
Transferred to Utica |
| Nolan Sawchuk | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (retired) |
| Blaine Warnert | Forward | United States |
Transferred to Augsburg |
| Trevor Zins | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (signed with Indy Fuel) |
Recruiting
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobias Abrahamsson | Defenseman |  Sweden |
20 | Jönköping, SWE |
| Chase Cheslock | Defenseman | United States |
19 | Rogers, MN; joined mid-season; selected 154th overall in 2023 |
| Ryder Donovan | Forward | United States |
22 | Duluth, MN; graduate transfer from Wisconsin; selected 110th overall in 2019 |
| Matthew Gleason | Forward | United States |
21 | Saint Paul, MN; transfer from Colorado College |
| Liam Malmquist | Forward | United States |
22 | Edina, MN; transfer from Wisconsin |
| James Marooney | Defenseman | United States |
24 | Chaska, MN; graduate transfer from Ohio State |
| J. D. Metz | Defenseman/Forward | United States |
20 | Mahtomedi, MN |
| Cole Miller | Defenseman | United States |
21 | Littleton, CO |
| Mason Poolman | Defenseman | United States |
21 | East Grand Forks, MN |
| Maximilian Prazma | Goaltender | Canada |
21 | Calgary, AB |
| Noah Prokop | Forward | United States |
23 | Highlands Ranch, CO; graduate transfer from Colorado College |
| Jake Ratzlaff | Defenseman | United States |
21 | Rosemount, MN |
| Jake Sibell | Goaltender | United States |
23 | Isanti, MN; transfer from Niagara |
| Jase Sofo | Defenseman | United States |
21 | Sylvania, OH |
Roster
editAs of December 28, 2023.[4]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 
|
James Marooney | Graduate | D | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1999-08-16 | Chaska, Minnesota | Ohio State (Big Ten) | — |
| 3 |
|
Lucas Wahlin (C) | Sophomore | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 2001-05-03 | Woodbury, Minnesota | Lincoln (NAHL) | — |
| 4 | 
|
Cole Miller | Freshman | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2002-08-27 | Littleton, Colorado | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — |
| 5 |
|
Matthew Gleason | Senior | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2001-09-20 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Colorado College (NCHC) | — |
| 6 |
|
Jake Ratzlaff | Freshman | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 2002-06-23 | Rosemount, Minnesota | Madison (USHL) | — |
| 8 | 
|
Cameron Recchi | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2001-05-24 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Salmon Arm (BCHL) | — |
| 10 |
|
Mason Poolman | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | 2002-01-31 | East Grand Forks, Minnesota | Penticton (BCHL) | — |
| 11 |
|
Ryan O'Neill | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2001-02-25 | Roseville, Minnesota | St. Cloud (NAHL) | — |
| 12 |
|
Tim Piechowski | Junior | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 2000-12-08 | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Bismarck (NAHL) | — |
| 13 |
|
Noah Prokop | Graduate | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | 2000-01-15 | Highlands Ranch, Colorado | Colorado College (NCHC) | — |
| 14 | 
|
Jase Sofo | Freshman | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2002-06-25 | Sylvania, Ohio | Amarillo (NAHL) | — |
| 15 | 
|
Quinton Pepper | Sophomore | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 2002-01-31 | London, Ontario | Steinbach (MJHL) | — |
| 16 |
|
Luke Manning (A) | Graduate | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-04-13 | Stillwater, Minnesota | Air Force (AHA) | — |
| 17 |
|
Jake Braccini | Sophomore | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 2001-07-02 | Hanover, Minnesota | Muskegon (USHL) | — |
| 18 |
|
Ethan Gauer | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-12-23 | Farmington, Minnesota | Bemidji State (WCHA) | — |
| 19 |
|
Luc Laylin | Sophomore | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-12-30 | St. Michael, Minnesota | Prince George (BCHL) | — |
| 20 |
|
Cooper Gay | Sophomore | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 2002-03-15 | Edina, Minnesota | Fargo (USHL) | — |
| 21 |
|
Carson Peters | Sophomore | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2002-10-28 | Medina, Minnesota | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | — |
| 22 |
|
Mack Byers (A) | Senior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-02-08 | Long Lake, Minnesota | Northern Michigan (CCHA) | — |
| 24 |
|
Grant Docter | Junior | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 2000-12-06 | Golden Valley, Minnesota | Michigan Tech (CCHA) | — |
| 25 |
|
Liam Malmquist | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2000-10-08 | Edina, Minnesota | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | — |
| 26 |
|
Chase Cheslock | Freshman | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2004-10-25 | Rogers, Minnesota | Omaha (USHL) | NJD, 154th overall 2023 |
| 27 |
|
Ryder Donovan | Graduate | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | 2000-10-04 | Duluth, Minnesota | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | VGK, 110th overall 2019 |
| 28 | 
|
Braidan Simmons-Fischer | Sophomore | D | 6' 7" (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 2002-01-26 | Detroit, Michigan | Austin (NAHL) | — |
| 29 |
|
J. D. Metz | Freshman | F/D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2002-10-24 | Mahtomedi, Minnesota | New Mexico (NAHL) | — |
| 30 |
|
Jake Sibell | Junior | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2000-01-03 | Isanti, Minnesota | Niagara (AHA) | — |
| 31 | 
|
Aaron Trotter | Sophomore | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-04-07 | Victoria, British Columbia | Prince George (BCHL) | — |
| 39 | 
|
Maximilian Prazma | Freshman | G | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2002-01-12 | Calgary, Alberta | Calgary (AJHL) | — |
| 42 |
|
Tobias Abrahamsson | Freshman | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 2003-08-30 | Jönköping, Sweden | HV71 J20 (J20 Nationell) | — |
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Bemidji State † | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 82 | 64 | 38 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 117 | 111 | |
| St. Thomas | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 68 | 62 | 37 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 97 | 105 | |
| #19 Michigan Tech* | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 63 | 54 | 40 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 109 | 102 | |
| Minnesota State | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 73 | 62 | 37 | 18 | 15 | 4 | 111 | 96 | |
| Northern Michigan | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 57 | 67 | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 83 | 105 | |
| Bowling Green | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 60 | 69 | 36 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 86 | 116 | |
| Lake Superior State | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 79 | 73 | 38 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 114 | 113 | |
| Ferris State | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 49 | 80 | 36 | 10 | 24 | 2 | 83 | 125 | |
| Augustana ^ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 90 | 105 | |
| Championship: March 22, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) ^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | |||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
editScoring statistics
edit| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Wahlin | F | 37 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 48 |
| Liam Malmquist | F | 36 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 10 |
| Ryan O'Neill | F | 35 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 12 |
| Matthew Gleason | C | 37 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 26 |
| Mack Byers | LW | 31 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 4 |
| Cooper Gay | RW | 29 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 28 |
| Luc Laylin | F | 37 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 6 |
| Luke Manning | C | 37 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 14 |
| Ethan Gauer | D | 37 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 26 |
| Quinton Pepper | RW | 31 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| Jake Braccini | RW | 24 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Noah Prokop | C | 27 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 |
| Mason Poolman | D | 28 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| Cole Miller | D | 37 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 47 |
| Grant Docter | D | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| James Marooney | D | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Tim Piechowski | RW | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| J. D. Metz | D/F | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Chase Cheslock | D | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Carson Peters | D | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| Tobias Abrahamsson | D | 37 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Aaron Trotter | G | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Ryder Donovan | C/RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Cameron Recchi | C/LW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jase Sofo | D | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Braidan Simmons-Fischer | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Jake Ratzlaff | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jake Sibell | G | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 97 | 170 | 267 | 351 |
Goaltending statistics
edit| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Trotter | 24 | 1357:56 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 68 | 627 | 1 | .902 | 3.00 |
| Jake Sibell | 16 | 852:10 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 31 | 372 | 0 | .923 | 2.18 |
| Empty Net | - | 30:40 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 37 | 2240:46 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 111 | 999 | 1 | .905 | 2.81 |
Rankings
edit| Poll | Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 (Final) | ||
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | |
| USA Hockey | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[7]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.
Awards and honors
edit| Player | Award | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Lucas Wahlin | CCHA Second Team | [8] |
| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 218 | Bauer Berry † | Edmonton Oilers |
† incoming freshman [9]
References
edit- ^ "This Week in CCHA Hockey: Hard work paying off for St. Thomas as Tommies buying in to culture, process, putting squad in first place". USCHO. January 17, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "FULL GAME: St. Thomas vs Lake Superior State - Game 3, 2024 CCHA Playoffs". YouTube. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "NTDP U18-St. Thomas Game on January 27 Canceled". USNTDP. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Roster". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Schedule". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
- ^ "Univ. of St. Thomas 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Six Earn All-CCHA Second Team". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.