By Ryan Stieg
For the second straight season, the St. Thomas men’s hockey team is hosting a CCHA first round playoff series, but when the season resumed after the winter holiday break, it appeared as if that wasn’t going to happen.
Then the Tommies caught fire. They’ve gone 12-3-1 since 2025 began thanks to a consistent offense, a strong power play and solid goaltending from Jake Sibell and Aaron Trotter with Sibell earning CCHA Goaltender of the Week after last weekend’s sweep of Michigan Tech.
“That number kind of jumps out at you, but for me, our focus has been on our process and just trying to get better every day,” UST head coach Rico Blasi said Monday. “So, at the end of it, it looks like a big number, but we really haven’t thought about it. We don’t talk about it. We talk about our daily improvement and trying to get better and playing for each other and playing the right way. That’s kind of been the last couple of months. We’ve just been grinding away and here we are now in a new season and everybody is at the same level and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Looking back at that sweep of Tech, both games were hard fought with the Huskies almost pulling off a huge comeback in the third period Friday night, and Blasi said the weekend came down to a couple of breaks that went his team’s way.
“I thought both teams played really well all weekend long,” he said. “You’ve got to make plays when they’re there and you’ve got to be opportunistic and you may get some bounces and I thought we did that. Our league came down to the wire again just like we thought it would and everyone’s pretty much evenly matched. It comes down to one or two plays and that was certainly the case last weekend.”
Thanks to that sweep as well as the impressive second half, UST heads into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and will host Ferris State this weekend in a best-of-3 series. The Bulldogs may be lower in the CCHA standings, but they’ve been quietly having a good second half and at this stage of the season, anybody can beat anybody.
“Their numbers have been pretty good the last couple of months too,” Blasi said. “We played a couple of really close games. Although the one was high scoring, it was really close. They’re well coached. They’re really good offensively. Their transition game is top 15 in the country in terms of how they generate their chances. I really love their D corps. They’re lanky and they jump into the play. So, it’s going to be another really difficult task to play a CCHA opponent in the playoffs. I respect everything that they’ve been able to do the last couple of months. They’re playing really well and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Longtime Bulldogs head coach Bob Daniels is retiring after this season and Blasi reflected on Daniels’ career and what it’s been like coaching against a guy who is well respected around college hockey.
“We have so many connections,” he said. “I have so much respect. He’s been a big mentor to me when I started off as a head coach. I had the opportunity to play against him as a player when he first started. I lived with one of his former players when I was a young assistant. I hired two of his former players as assistants. We have a long history. I certainly admire everything that he’s accomplished. He’s an inspiration to all of us. What he’s done for college hockey is incredible and what he’s done for Ferris State is incredible and we’re going to miss him in terms of coaching. He’s earned the right to relax and play some golf and do the things that he loves to do. He’s been a big part of my coaching career and he’s probably right up there in top 5 respected coaches of all time.”
Puck drop for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. with Saturday’s set for 6 p.m. If necessary, Sunday’s game is also set for 6 p.m.