St. Thomas men’s hockey was swept during the CCHA playoffs after falling 3-2 on Friday and 8-2 on Saturday to No. 1 Minnesota State Mankato at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato. The sweep put an end to the Tommies’ inaugural Division I season.

The Tommies finished their season 3-31-1 with a 3-22-1CCHA record.

St. Thomas kept the game close on Friday, scoring twice on power plays. Sophomore defender Ethan Gauer and junior forward Luke Manning netted the goals.

The game was tied 2-2 after the Mavericks (32-5-0, 23-3-0 CCHA) scored 49 seconds into the third period. They scored the game-winner with 6:33 left in the game. The goal was largely attested by coach Rico Blasi, who argued his defender Trevor Zins was interfered with by a Maverick forward.

On Saturday, the game was tied 1-1 after the first period with senior forward Grant Loven scoring for the Tommies. The Mavericks took control from there, scoring four goals in the second and three in the third.

The Tommies will return to the ice next fall with most of the current roster as only nine players are set to graduate. Six signees will join the Tommies for the 2022-23 season.

Check TommieMedia.com next week for a full season recap.

Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.