2023–24 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season

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
ConferenceT–2nd CCHA
Home iceSt. Thomas Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall15–20–2
Conference12–11–1
Home8–8–2
Road7–11–0
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachEnrico Blasi
Assistant coachesLeon 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

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High 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

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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

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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

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As 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

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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

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 6:00 pm at #8 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Fox 9+ Trotter W 5–4 OT 4,863 1–0–0
October 8 4:07 pm #8 St. Cloud State* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 0–1  556 1–1–0
October 13 7:30 pm vs. #2 Minnesota* Xcel Energy CenterSaint Paul, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 5–6 OT 11,376 1–2–0
October 14 6:00 pm at #2 Minnesota* 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, Minnesota   Sibell L 0–3  9,862 1–3–0
October 20 7:07 pm Lindenwood* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter T 4–4 OT 778 1–3–1
October 21 7:07 pm Lindenwood* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell W 3–1  668 2–3–1
October 27 7:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 2–3  1,686 2–4–1 (0–1–0)
October 28 6:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell L 0–2  1,643 2–5–1 (0–2–0)
November 3 7:07 pm Northern Michigan St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter W 4–2  614 3–5–1 (1–2–0)
November 4 6:07 pm Northern Michigan St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell W 6–1  922 4–5–1 (2–2–0)
November 10 6:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Trotter W 4–1  2,172 5–5–1 (3–2–0)
November 11 6:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Sibell W 4–3  2,180 6–5–1 (4–2–0)
November 24 7:07 pm Lake Superior State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter W 4–2  784 7–5–1 (5–2–0)
November 25 6:07 pm Lake Superior State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell L 1–3  826 7–6–1 (5–3–0)
December 1 6:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Trotter L 2–5  1,754 7–7–1 (5–4–0)
December 2 5:07 pm at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Sibell W 7–1  1,834 8–7–1 (6–4–0)
December 8 7:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 1–3  4,557 8–8–1 (6–5–0)
December 9 6:07 pm Minnesota State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell W 2–1  1,010 9–8–1 (7–5–0)
December 29 6:00 pm at Vermont* Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Trotter L 1–5  2,595 9–9–1
December 30 4:00 pm at Vermont* Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Sibell L 1–4  2,652 9–10–1
January 6 4:07 pm Minnesota Duluth* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Exhibition) FloHockey Sibell W 3–1  1,058
January 11 7:07 pm Michigan Tech St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter W 4–3  1,021 10–10–1 (8–5–0)
January 13 5:07 pm Michigan Tech St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell W 3–1  1,059 11–10–1 (9–5–0)
January 19 6:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Trotter L 2–3  2,562 11–11–1 (9–6–0)
January 20 5:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Sibell W 3–1  12–11–1 (10–6–0)
February 2 7:07 pm Minnesota State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 3–4 OT 1,038 12–12–1 (10–7–0)
February 3 6:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter W 4–2  4,973 13–12–1 (11–7–0)
February 9 7:07 pm at Augustana* Midco ArenaSioux Falls, South Dakota FloHockey, Midco Sibell L 2–4  2,422 13–13–1
February 10 6:07 pm at Augustana* Midco ArenaSioux Falls, South Dakota FloHockey, Midco Trotter L 1–2 OT 2,591 13–14–1
February 16 7:07 pm Bowling Green St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter T 3–3 SOL 894 13–14–2 (11–7–1)
February 17 6:07 pm Bowling Green St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell L 1–3  796 13–15–2 (11–8–1)
February 23 7:07 pm Bemidji State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Trotter L 5–6  1,014 13–16–2 (11–9–1)
February 24 6:07 pm Bemidji State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota FloHockey Sibell L 1–3  1,008 13–17–2 (11–10–1)
March 1 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Trotter W 2–0  2,371 14–17–2 (12–10–1)
March 2 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Sibell L 0–6  2,851 14–18–2 (12–11–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 8 7:07 pm Lake Superior State* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Trotter L 1–4  506 14–19–2
March 9 6:07 pm Lake Superior State* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Trotter W 4–2  495 15–19–2
March 10 5:07 pm Lake Superior State* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 3) FloHockey Trotter L 2–3  437 15–20–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

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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

[6]

Goaltending statistics

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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

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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

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Player Award Ref
Lucas Wahlin CCHA Second Team [8]
Round Pick Player NHL team
7 218 Bauer Berry Edmonton Oilers

† incoming freshman [9]

References

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  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "FULL GAME: St. Thomas vs Lake Superior State - Game 3, 2024 CCHA Playoffs". YouTube. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "NTDP U18-St. Thomas Game on January 27 Canceled". USNTDP. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Roster". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Schedule". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Univ. of St. Thomas 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Six Earn All-CCHA Second Team". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  9. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.