BLAINE, Minn. — Senior forward Spencer Zwiener’s empty net goal for the St. Thomas men’s hockey team, and Josh Maucieri’s goal with 2.3 seconds left in the third period sealed the deal for the Tommies win against Bethel on the road 5-1 Friday at the National Sports Center’s Super Rink.
This comes after the Tommies’ overtime loss to Bethel nine days ago at Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
“They’re a hard team to play,” coach Jeff Boeser said. “They just chip pucks out, chip them deep and their goalie just always plays really well.”
Sophomore goalie Jacob Berger saved 31 out of 32 shots from Bethel, whose sole goal came from sophomore forward Jarrett Cammarata.
The Tommies out played the Royals in an aggressive battle, with each team drawing seven penalties. Boeser says he’s not surprised with the level of contact on the ice.
“You know it’s gonna be a hard fought physical game and then there’s gonna be penalties,” Boeser said. “We have to play hard, and we can be skilled and we can be a good team.”
After a quiet first period with no scoring, the Tommies fired up in the second, with junior forward Grant Loven and senior defender Phil Fromberger each scoring a goal each.
“(Bethel) played hard, but we kind of brought in as a group and we’re able to battle through their physicality and get the win tonight,” Loven said.
Junior forward Luke Radetic scored with a Fromberger assist, before Zwiener’s empty net goal and Maucieri’s goals at the end of the third period to end the game with a four goal difference.
“I thought we brought intensity unlike last game,” Radetic said, “and just stuck up for ourselves, so it was good.”
St. Thomas will face St. John’s on the road for their last game as a Division III team Tuesday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Olivia Paradise can be reached at para4336@stthomas.edu.
Editor’s note: an original version of this story incorrectly listed Henry Baribeau as the St. Thomas goalie, and incorrectly listed the saves and shots amount for the St. Thomas goalie.