The last time SJU swept St. Thomas was back in 2005. There was no time better to break that streak than this past weekend. SJU came away with the weekend sweep winning both games by a 4-1 score. Another interesting stat was that SJU had only beaten St. Thomas by three goals or more twice since 2000 prior to this weekend. We doubled that number by beating them by three goals both nights. The best thing about this past weekend is that it put SJU in sole possession of first place in the MIAC and in control of its own fate in the chase for a MIAC Championship.
Both games this past weekend told a similar story. The games were both very tight moving into the third periods when I feel that our depth took over the games. We are able to play four lines all night long and that really pays dividends in the third period. We outscored St. Thomas 5-0 in the third period this weekend and outshot them 24-10 in the third period over the two games. My favorite stat on the weekend was only giving up 10 third-period shots on the weekend. We played six strong periods this weekend.
Moving forward, we have a tough series this weekend against Gustavus. They are currently in fourth place in the MIAC with 20 points. They are not only fighting for a playoff spot, but also to maintain their playoff spot with three other teams nipping at their heels. Gustavus has had a great season this year after missing the playoffs with only five wins last season. A lot of their success comes down to their goalies and their defensive play. They have two of the top goalies in the league and have held teams this year to a MIAC-best 2.14 GAA. They are a very disciplined team that will frustrate opponents with their smothering defense. We are going to have to play a similar game to what we played this past weekend to get two wins and the MIAC Championship.
Our fans (you) play a huge role with our home ice advantage. What also helped us with St. Thomas is that our fans outnumbered the Tommie fans 2 to 1 at their rink. I hope you will come out in force to cheer the boys on for this exciting regular season finale.
Game Information:
Friday, Feb 16th – Johnnies vs Gustavus at Gustavus 7:00 pm
Saturday, Feb 17th – Johnnies vs Gustavus at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud 7:00 pm
Johnnie Hockey Alumni Game and Senior Night
I also want to mention that I am excited to host the first SJU Hockey Alumni game since 2010 this Saturday at 2pm. We have over 40 alumni signed up to come back and enjoy the alumni game and the SJU varsity game that evening. It will be fun because we also honor the future SJU Hockey alumni in the four seniors that night for Senior Night. Sam Dockry, Tyler Dunagan, Huba Sekesi and Sam Valerius will all be honored prior to the game for the time and work that they have put into SJU Hockey over the past four years!
Thanks for all your support and we hope to see you at a game this weekend.
