By Ryan Stieg
ST. PAUL, Minn. — After rallying to defeat Ferris State Friday at home, the St. Thomas men’s hockey team hoped to get off to a better start in their rematch Saturday.
The Tommies failed to do so as they fell behind 2-0 just like the previous night, but then they caught fire offensively. UST scored eight unanswered goals on its way to an 8-4 blowout win and a series sweep. By earning six CCHA points, the Tommies are now in second place in the league standings, one point behind first place Minnesota State. UST goalie Will Ingemann made 15 saves in his first start since Nov. 15.
“I thought we had good jump in the first couple of shifts, but then we had some miscues and they capitalized on them,” Tommies head coach Rico Blasi said. “But I thought we were skating pretty good. Obviously, you’re worried down 2-0, but then we got the power play and our power play looked really good tonight. They executed and then we kind of rolled from there.”
Just like the first period on Friday, Ferris opened the scoring first and it was forward Gavin Best getting it started again for the Bulldogs. After Ingemann bobbled a save, Best tapped the loose puck into the open net to make it 1-0 Ferris at the 4:39 mark. At 11:34, the Bulldogs struck again after Xavier Jean-Louis backhanded a shot from the high slot past Ingemann to put Ferris up 2-0.
The Tommies answered back two minutes later and just like Friday, Jake Braccini got them on the scoreboard first. While on the power play, UST freshman Lucas Van Vliet sent a shot on net that Braccini tipped past Bulldogs goalie Hobie Hedquist to cut the deficit to 2-1.
At 17:53, UST defenseman Hayes Hundley sent a shot from the blue line that went off Ferris center Riley Wallack and past Hedquist to tie it up at 2-2. Then the floodgates opened for the Tommies. Less than a minute later, UST captain Lucas Wahlin charged toward the net, got a pass from Chase Cheslock in the high slot and one-timed it past Hedquist to give the Tommies their first lead at 3-2. Finally, with 11 seconds remaining in the period, Tommies forward Attila Lippai made it 4-2. Lippai tried to tuck the puck past Hedquist by the right post, but the netminder made the save. However, the puck squirted under Hedquist’s pad and then off his leg into the back of the net.
Hedquist was replaced in net by Martin Lundberg to start the second, but that didn’t change the Bulldogs’ fortunes. Early in the period, UST defenseman Nick Williams made it 5-2, and with the Tommies on the power play at 7:55, Braccini netted his second of the game to push the lead to 6-2. It was a nice tic-tac-toe play from Van Vliet to Cheslock and then over to Braccini for a one-timer.
While on the penalty kill, Tommies forward Alex Gaffney broke free down the ice and scored shorthanded to make it 7-2. That goal tied Gaffney for the national lead with his third shorty of the season. Then with nine seconds left in the second, and UST on the power play, Nathan Pilling corralled a loose puck by the left post and fired it past Lundberg to make it 8-2 going into the third.
The Bulldogs get one goal back in the third as defenseman Trevor Taulien beat Ingemann five-hole on the power play at 2:22 and later, Ferris winger Max Dukovac cut the Tommies’ lead to four with a goal at 16:45, but that’s all the Bulldogs could manage.
“We’re down to the wire,” Blasi said. “You want to be playing in these meaningful games in January and February, and every game is critical. So I think with every time you step onto the ice and play games at this time of the year, you’re going to build something, and you’re hoping you’re building more confidence, and playing to our standard. I think that’s mostly important to me is that we continue to get to our standard every game. I thought we did that for the most part tonight, and I thought we did that, especially in the third, last night. The good thing is I don’t think we’ve played 60 minutes to our standard yet, so we’ll continue to work hard to get ourselves there.”
UST plays one game against the rival Mavericks in Mankato next Saturday before returning home to face Bemidji State Jan. 16-17.