By Ryan Stieg
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The first time the St. Thomas men’s hockey team faced Lake Superior State in a playoff series was back in 2024 and the Tommies fell in heartbreaking fashion in three games.
On Saturday, the Tommies avenged that defeat, and they swept the Lakers with a 5-2 victory. UST got the game-winning goal from Lucas Van Vliet with just over two minutes left in regulation and clinched it with two empty netters.
“We knew they (the Lakers) were going to be a desperate team and the hardest thing to do is eliminate somebody,” Tommies head coach Rico Blasi said. “I thought they played really well. I thought they did what they needed to do, they killed a lot of penalties and they had their chances. I thought (Tommies goalie Carsen) Musser played really well. We thought we had our chances too. I feel like (Lakers goalie Rorke) Applebee made some saves, batting pucks out of the air as they were going in. We hit a couple of posts. It was a good college hockey game. We bent a little bit, but we had a good play by (Tommies forward Charlie) Schoen on the goal with Vlieter for the game-winner. Then I thought we did a really nice job 6-on-5 to close it out.”
Just like in Game 1, the Tommies got on the scoreboard early as defenseman Colton Jamieson netted his first goal of the season at the 2:02 mark to make it 1-0. Jamieson sent a shot from the point that fought its way through traffic and past Applebee.
However, LSSU answered back four minutes later. While on a rush, Laker forward Sasha Teleguine fed a pass to Ryan Beck, who beat Musser glove-side to tie things up at 1-1 heading into the second period.
In the second, there was a weird sequence where the Tommies had a goal count and get taken away. After a scrum in front, UST captain Lucas Wahlin was laying in the crease in front of Applebee and appeared to tap the puck into the back of the net. After a review, the officials ruled that the puck crossed the line and that it was a good goal. Then the Lakers challenged for goaltender interference and after another review, Wahlin’s goal was waved off.
Wahlin eventually got on the board in the period. While on a rush, he rang a shot off the crossbar and over Applebee to give the Tommies a 2-1 lead at 10:41 heading into the third.
“I think I’ve been lacking in shooting the puck a little bit, so I wanted to make sure I got some pucks on net tonight,” Wahlin said. “I saw the opportunity to get one on net and decided to use a screen and it ended up high corner.”
In the third, the Tommies had two chances to pad their advantage, but they couldn’t capitalize on two power plays. However, the Lakers almost did on the second UST power play. Tommies defenseman Chase Cheslock tripped and that let Carter Batchelder break free down the middle. However, Musser denied Batchelder to the left post and the Tommies maintained their slim lead.
UST couldn’t put the Lakers away though. LSSU tied it at 2-2 at 15:48 on a goal by Evan Bushy. While in the Tommies zone, Batchelder backhanded the puck to Branden Piku, who sent a cross-ice pass over to Bushy and he beat a sprawling Musser blocker-side.
However, the Tommies weren’t shaken, and they took the lead again at 17:43 on a great teamwork play. With the puck behind the Lakers net, Schoen sent a pass in front to a waiting Van Vliet, who snapped the puck into the wide-open net to put UST up 3-2.
“On the shift before, we were out there when the other team scored and we got back to the bench and me and Chucky talked about it and said, ‘We’ve got to get it back for our team.’” Van Vliet said. “I thought we did a good job getting it back. There’s a lot of players that can make that play, but Chucky especially, I know was going to make that play. So, I was just trying to be in the right spot, and it eventually gets in.”
Both Wahlin and Van Vliet scored empty netters in the closing minutes to nail down the victory. With the final outcome determined, things got intense in the final seconds. A fight broke out in the Lakers zone, and those lingering tensions carried over into the postgame handshake line.
“It’s playoffs and it’s frustration, but I thought our guys handled themselves well,” Blasi said.
The Tommies will host either third-seeded Augustana or eighth-seeded Ferris State next weekend in the CCHA semifinals.