I’m not going to call it a sweep because it wasn’t, but getting five out of a possible six points was a good result against our rival St. Thomas last weekend. On Thursday night, the game was tied 2-2 after regulation and five-on-five overtime before we got a big shootout goal from senior Sean Lang to get the extra point in the standings. On Friday night at St. Thomas, we came away with a 4-1 win. We got a big power-play goal from junior Cole Souto to put us up 1-0 and then another from sophomore Travis Brown to put us up 2-0. Finally, we scored a big goal halfway through the third period to give us a 3-0 lead before they finally got one to make it a two-goal lead with about 10 minutes left. We hung on to the lead and managed to score an empty-net goal late to get the 4-1 win. It is always great to win at St. Thomas, because there are always a lot of SJU alumni in the building and, let’s be honest, it is always great to beat those Tommies!
We got back to work this Monday to get ready for our series against Gustavus this Thursday and Saturday. Gustavus always plays us tough and especially down in their building. Gustavus is currently 5-5-1 at home, compared to 2-10-0 on the road. This weekend is going to be another big challenge for us and we need to be ready to play. It is also important for us to continue to build to the way we need to play to be successful in playoffs. This year we have been a little inconsistent, and we need to bring the effort we had this past weekend and build on it, not revert to our old ways.
This Thursday is our senior night and those festivities will start prior to the game around 6:45pm. We will honor our eight seniors and their parents. This is always a fun evening and these guys really deserve a lot of credit for their commitment to this hockey program.
This senior class has made an impact on this program on and off the ice. They have played 571 career games and have contributed 272 career points. With that said, they have all carried a grade point average (GPA) well over 3.0 and have a cumulative GPA of 3.6!
Here is a look this great group of eight seniors:
#2 Sean Lang
Sean is an offensive defenseman that plays the game with a lot of skill and energy. He has played in 97 of a possible 101 games so far in his career. This weekend will be his 98th and 99th career games at SJU. He has been a consistent contributor to this team and is a great teammate in the locker room. Sean is a Global Business Leadership major with a 3.3 GPA.
#8 Garrett Riebling
Garrett is a quick, hard-working forward that is always buzzing around on the ice. Garrett has fought numerous injuries in his four years here at SJU but has always stuck by his teammates and has always worked hard to get back in the game. He is a team-first kind of guy and will do whatever it takes to win. He is a Global Business Leadership Major and carries a 3.7 GPA.
#12 Robb Stautz
Robb is a big, strong forward that has been very consistent his four years here at SJU. He has played in 91 career games and has played in the last 49 consecutive games. Robb brings speed and energy to the ice and has also been in the top 5 in team scoring the past three years. He is a great locker room guy and really keeps things light and fun. Robb is an Accounting major and carries a 3.3 GPA.
#13 Joey Lindberg
Joey is one of the hardest workers on the team. He is always the last guy to leave the rink and has always been willing to do the extra work to improve his game. Unfortunately, he has battled numerous injuries throughout his four years here at SJU. Joe is a solid puck-moving defenseman that can see the ice well and plays the game hard. Even though he has missed a lot of games to injury, his presence in the locker room is always there and respected. Joey is a Accounting major and carries a 3.4 GPA.
#14 Grady Ewing
Grady came to SJU a quiet young man and has really grown his past four years. He plays the game extremely hard every time he is out there. He has also been a utility guy this past year, playing both forward and defense for us. Grady is the last true-freshman left on the team that didn’t play junior hockey and up until this year, was always the youngest guy on the team. You would not know this if you saw him play. Grady is a Mathematics major and carries a 3.6 GPA.
#18 Evan Okeley
Evan came to SJU as a transfer his sophomore year from the Air Force Academy. He is a big, strong player that can really bring a physical presence to this team. He is also one of the fastest guys on the team and has scored some real highlight-reel goals in his career. Evan has only missed 3 games in his career here and is our emotional leader on and off the ice. Evan is an Accounting major and carries a 3.9 GPA.
#23 Matt Colford
Matt is our most skilled player with the best vision on the team. He is our best power-play guy and is always a threat with the puck. Matt had to fight through a serious knee injury his sophomore year but has been a consistent guy in the lineup from the time he got back from that injury. Matt is a great team guy and a great leader. He is a guy that the team looks up to and will go to when they need to talk about things. Matt is a Global Business Leadership major and carries a 3.6 GPA.
#24 Joe Chitwood
Joe is a great leader and team player. He is our grinder and works hard every time he touches the ice. In the past two years he has been the right wing on our most productive line. He plays the game the right way and works extremely hard. Because he plays the game so hard, he has had to fight through injuries his entire career. He is always willing to play through pain and do everything for his teammates. Joe is a Biology/Pre-Medicine major with a 3.9 GPA. Joe will be continuing his education at Indiana University medical school next year.
Thanks again for all your support for Johnnie Hockey and I hope to see you at the rink this Thursday to show your support once again for these eight seniors.
Go Johnnies!
