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By Ryan Stieg  ST. PAUL, Minn. — When a team is facing a quality, nationally-ranked opponent, one of the worst things that it can do is fall apart mentally when facing adversity. However, that’s what happened to the St. Thomas men’s hockey team Saturday night.   After tying No. 15 Providence 2-2 the previous night, the Tommies held a 4-1 lead during the second period of […]

By Ryan Stieg  ST. PAUL, Minn. — More than two years ago, the St. Thomas athletics department announced that it had received a massive donation for a new on-campus arena for the men’s and women’s hockey and basketball programs.   After a long wait, the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena finally opened its doors and hosted its first men’s hockey game Friday

By Ryan Stieg  It’s late October, but the St. Thomas men’s hockey team are finally going to play a home series at its own rink, and that rink is a nice one.   UST opens the brand-new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena Friday night and it should be a sight to behold. The Tommies were also impressive to watch last weekend as they fired 11 goals into the

By Ryan Stieg  Well, that was a tough weekend. I’m sure some of the CCHA squads had worse weekends than I did, but as far as my predictions go, they definitely didn’t go well.   Of the six series last week, I only picked one correctly outright and that was Michigan Tech splitting with Alaska Fairbanks. If that hadn’t happened, I would’ve had to dig

By Ryan Stieg  So how was everybody’s weekend? If you enjoy big college hockey upsets, you probably had a blast. I liked the national upsets, but the ones in the CCHA caused me to have mixed results and helped me reach an important conclusion. It’s getting harder to win college hockey games and even more difficult to sweep a series.   On the

By Ryan Stieg  ST. PAUL, Minn. — It’s Year 5 of “the process” for the St. Thomas men’s hockey team and three games into the season, it’s had mixed results.  After opening the season with a road win over St. Cloud State last week, the No. 19-ranked Tommies stumbled at No. 10 North Dakota Friday, and in the series finale Sunday, they fell again to the Fighting Hawks 5-2, this time at Grand Casino Arena.  Even though the Tommies

By Ryan Stieg  Well, Week 1 in the CCHA is in the books, and I’m feeling pretty good about my performance as I got four out of my six predictions right. I’m especially proud with my correct split between Michigan Tech and Minnesota. The Huskies are off this weekend, so they’re probably still on an emotional high, just like me.   This week brings new challenges as teams that

By Ryan Stieg  What does it take to be a great goalie? It depends on who you ask. However, for the St. Thomas netminders and their recruits, they have a good person to consult as former University of North Dakota goaltending coach, and Fighting Hawks record holder, Karl Goehring takes over goaltending coach duties this season in St. Paul.   After

By Ryan Stieg  The long wait is over everyone. The men’s college hockey season returns this weekend and I’m just as excited as you are.   There’s a lot of questions going into this season. Can Western Michigan repeat? Will the Big Ten finally win a national title? Will the NCHC remain the strongest conference? What will the Frozen Four

By Ryan Stieg  ST. PAUL, Minn. — There have already been several firsts for the St. Thomas men’s and women’s hockey programs during their massive move from Division III to Division I over the past four seasons.   The Tommies have already achieved their first victories and first sweeps as programs, while the men have earned two CCHA Playoff series victories and came just short