| 2022–23 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 7th CCHA |
| Home ice | St. Thomas Ice Arena |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | NR |
| USA Today | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 11–23–2 |
| Conference | 10–14–2 |
| Home | 7–9–1 |
| Road | 4–14–1 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Enrico Blasi |
| Assistant coaches | Leon Hayward Cory Laylin |
| St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey seasons « 2021–22 2023–24 » | |
The 2022–23 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey season was the 99th season of play for the program, the 2nd in Division I and the 2nd in the CCHA conference. The Tommies represented the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and were coached by Enrico Blasi, in his second season.
Season
After a predictably terrible season, the first for the program at the Division I level, coach Blasi continued his task of turning the Tommies into a competitive team. With more than half of the team being new, there were sure to be changes but the roster turnover meant that getting the team to gel together would take time. The offense, which had been one of the worst in the nation in 2022, didn't see much improvement early in the season. In the first 14 games, the Tommies scored more than two goals in just four matches. Averaging just over two goals per game, the team got off to an ugly start (2–12). While their record was awful, the team did show improvement on the defensive end. St. Thomas was allowing far fewer shots and goals against and half of their losses were by only one goal.
Just after Thanksgiving, the Tommies posted their first weekend sweep at the D-I level. Using the milestone as a benchmark, St. Thomas saw a vast improvement to their performance over the remainder of the season. A modest increase in both offensive production and defensive efficiency enabled the team to post a .500 record over their final 18 games. While the Tommies couldn't string together anything resembling a winning streak, they also never lost more than two in a row during that stretch. St. Thomas was also able to post its first two wins over ranked teams, defeating both Michigan Tech and Minnesota State on the road. Though they couldn't improve on their conference position much due to the team's poor start, the wins piled up to the point where the Tommies had a respectable total by the end of the year.
St. Thomas finished the season as the 7th seed in the CCHA tournament and, though they weren't predicted to win, they still outperformed expectations. The Tommies pushed Tech to the limit in both games, ultimately falling short by a single goal in both.
While the team did finish the season 12 games under .500, the program had come a long way over the course of the season. Not only did they nearly quadruple the win total from 2022, but they increased their goal production by 27 while cutting down on the goals allowed by 51. Even with a losing record, the program could still chalk this season up as a success.[1]
Departures
| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Berger | Goaltender |  United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Michael Ferrandino | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Augsburg |
| Kyler Grundy | Forward | United States | Transferred to UW-Eau Claire |
| Kimball Johnson | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Utica |
| Justin Kelley | Forward | United States | Transferred to Bethel |
| Grant Loven | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Canisius |
| Lucas McGregor | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Shayne Monahan | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Logan Ommen | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Sam Renlund | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Paul Schmid | Forward |  Austria | Transferred to Norwich |
| John Schuldt | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Joe Sofo | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers) |
| Aaron Swanson | Forward | United States | Transferred to UW-Eau Claire |
| Peter Thome | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Idaho Steelheads) |
| Christiano Versich | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise) |
| Vincent Weis | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Augsburg |
Recruiting
| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Braccini | Forward | United States | 21 | Hanover, MN |
| Mack Byers | Forward | United States | 23 | Long Lake, MN; transfer from Northern Michigan |
| Garrett Daly | Forward | United States | 23 | Lakeville, MN; transfer from Bowling Green |
| Grant Docter | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Golden Valley, MN; transfer from Michigan Tech |
| Joshua Eernisse | Forward | United States | 20 | Apple Valley, MN |
| Cooper Gay | Forward | United States | 20 | Edina, MN |
| Luke Kron | Forward | United States | 20 | Andover, MN |
| Luc Laylin | Forward | United States | 20 | St. Michael, MN |
| Jarrett Lee | Forward | United States | 23 | Hibbing, MN; graduate transfer from Minnesota Duluth |
| Ryan O'Neill | Forward | United States | 21 | Roseville, MN |
| Quinton Pepper | Forward | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | 20 | London, ON |
| Carson Peters | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Minneapolis, MN |
| Ethan Roberts | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Cary, NC |
| Braidan Simmons-Fischer | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Detroit, MI |
| Aaron Trotter | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Victoria, BC |
| Lucas Wahlin | Forward | United States | 21 | Woodbury, MN |
Roster
As of July 21, 2022.[2]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  |
Trevor Zins | Senior | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1998-07-23 | St. Michael, Minnesota | St. Cloud State (NCHC) | — |
| 3 | |
Lucas Wahlin | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 2001-05-03 | Woodbury, Minnesota | Lincoln (USHL) | — |
| 4 | |
Nolan Sawchuk | Graduate | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-09-25 | Burnsville, Minnesota | UMass Lowell (HEA) | — |
| 5 | |
Garrett Daly | Graduate | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1999-08-11 | Lakeville, Minnesota | Bowling Green (CCHA) | — |
| 6 | |
Josh Eernisse | Freshman | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2001-12-31 | Apple Valley, Minnesota | Tri-City (USHL) | — |
| 7 | |
Luke Kron | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2002-05-24 | Andover, Minnesota | Sioux Falls (USHL) | — |
| 8 |  |
Cameron Recchi | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 2001-05-24 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Salmon Arm (BCHL) | — |
| 9 |  |
Matthew Jennings | Graduate | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | 1997-06-07 | Buford, Georgia | Ohio State (Big Ten) | — |
| 10 | |
Andrew Kangas | Senior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1998-01-28 | Mahtomedi, Minnesota | Minot (NAHL) | — |
| 11 | |
Ryan O'Neill | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2001-02-25 | Roseville, Minnesota | St. Cloud (NAHL) | — |
| 12 | |
Tim Piechowski | Sophomore | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 2000-12-08 | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Bismarck (NAHL) | — |
| 15 |  |
Quinton Pepper | Freshman | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 2002-01-31 | London, Ontario | Steinbach (MJHL) | — |
| 16 | |
Luke Manning | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-04-13 | Stillwater, Minnesota | Air Force (AHA) | — |
| 17 | |
Jake Braccini | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 2001-07-02 | Hanover, Minnesota | Muskegon (USHL) | — |
| 18 | |
Ethan Gauer | Junior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-12-23 | Farmington, Minnesota | Bemidji State (WCHA) | — |
| 19 | |
Luc Laylin | Freshman | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-12-30 | St. Michael, Minnesota | Prince George (BCHL) | — |
| 20 | |
Cooper Gay | Freshman | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 2002-03-15 | Edina, Minnesota | Fargo (USHL) | — |
| 21 | |
Carson Peters | Freshman | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2002-10-28 | Medina, Minnesota | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | — |
| 22 | |
Mack Byers | Junior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-02-08 | Long Lake, Minnesota | Northern Michigan (CCHA) | — |
| 24 | |
Grant Docter | Sophomore | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 2000-12-06 | Golden Valley, Minnesota | Michigan Tech (CCHA) | — |
| 25 | |
Trevor LeDonne | Sophomore | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2000-02-27 | Stoney Creek, Ontario | Nanaimo (BCHL) | — |
| 26 | |
Blaine Warnert | Sophomore | F | 6' 5" (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2000-07-17 | Chaska, Minnesota | Minot (NAHL) | — |
| 27 | |
Luke Perunovich | Graduate | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1997-05-12 | Edina, Minnesota | Providence (HEA) | — |
| 28 |  |
Braidan Simmons-Fischer | Freshman | D | 6' 7" (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | 2002-01-26 | Detroit, Michigan | Austin (NAHL) | — |
| 29 | |
Jarrett Lee | Graduate | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 154 lb (70 kg) | 1999-06-04 | Hibbing, Minnesota | Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) | — |
| 31 |  |
Aaron Trotter | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 2001-04-07 | Victoria, British Columbia | Prince George (BCHL) | — |
| 35 |  |
Henry Baribeau | Senior | G | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-10-15 | Hudson, Wisconsin | New Ulm (NA3HL) | — |
| 42 |  |
Ethan Roberts | Freshman | G | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | 2002-09-24 | Cary, North Carolina | Springfield (NAHL) | — |
Standings
| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #12 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 52 | 83 | 56 | 39 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 126 | 81 | |
| #13 Michigan Tech | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 68 | 54 | 39 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 103 | 88 | |
| Bowling Green | 26 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 89 | 76 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 114 | 114 | |
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 82 | 77 | 38 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 123 | 103 | |
| Bemidji State | 26 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 73 | 63 | 36 | 14 | 17 | 5 | 94 | 97 | |
| Ferris State | 26 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 62 | 91 | 37 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 92 | 131 | |
| St. Thomas | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 69 | 81 | 36 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 86 | 117 | |
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 52 | 80 | 36 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 71 | 118 | |
| Championship: March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | |||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
Scoring statistics
| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mack Byers | LW | 36 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 6 |
| Josh Eernisse | F | 36 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 54 |
| Luc Laylin | F | 36 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 29 |
| Lucas Wahlin | F | 26 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 20 |
| Ryan O'Neill | F | 36 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 8 |
| Jake Braccini | RW | 32 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 9 |
| Luke Manning | C | 35 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| Cameron Recchi | C/LW | 35 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 25 |
| Jarrett Lee | F | 34 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 18 |
| Trevor Zins | D | 34 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Cooper Gay | RW | 30 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Tim Piechowski | RW | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Ethan Gauer | D | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Grant Docter | D | 25 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 |
| Carson Peters | D | 36 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Trevor LeDonne | D | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Matthew Jennings | C | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Quinton Pepper | RW | 34 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Nolan Sawchuk | D | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Andrew Kangas | F | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Aaron Trotter | G | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Garrett Daly | D | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 |
| Braidan Simmons-Fischer | D | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| Ethan Roberts | G | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Luke Perunovich | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Henry Baribeau | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blaine Warnert | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Kron | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Total | 86 | 137 | 223 | 379 |
Goaltending statistics
| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Baribeau | 1 | 2:03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Aaron Trotter | 34 | 1988:07 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 99 | 943 | 1 | .905 | 2.99 |
| Ethan Roberts | 7 | 172:10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 86 | 0 | .869 | 4.53 |
| Empty Net | - | 21:48 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2162:20 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 117 | 1030 | 1 | .902 | 3.22 |
Rankings
| Poll | Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 (Final) | |
| USCHO.com | NR | - | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[5]
Players drafted into the NHL
2023 NHL Entry Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 154 | Chase Cheslock † | New Jersey Devils |
† incoming freshman [6]
References
- ↑ "St. Thomas Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ↑ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". The University of St. Thomas. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
- ↑ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule". St. Thomas Tommies. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Univ. of St. Thomas 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ↑ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ↑ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.