As the St. Thomas men’s hockey team started off its season with two wins Saturday and Sunday, forward Tyler Gubb said this year’s mix of core players and its new transfers and recruits will be key to maintaining the team’s successful start to the 2013-2014 season.

The Tommies slotted a 3-2 victory over Bethel University Saturday at the MIAC showcase in Blaine, Minn. Forward Connor McBride netted two of the team’s goals, one of which was the game winner.

Saturday’s success carried into the Tommies’ game against Gustavus Adolphus College Sunday, as they posted a 5-3 win. Two of the five Tommie goals were on power plays. Gubb contributed one of the power play goals.

“We have our top guys coming back from last year and a good group of core returners coming back and some freshmen that are coming in right away who can contribute,” Gubb, one of the team’s captains, said.

The Tommies return key players like All-American defenseman Mike Krieg, All-MIAC goaltender Drew Fielding and All-MIAC forward Alex Altenbernd.

The team will look to Krieg and Fielding defensively, a goaltending duo that allowed 25 goals in 16 MIAC regular-season games last season.

Krieg said the team will use its work ethic as a stepping stone to build off last season’s outcome —a season-ending upset in the MIAC playoffs when fourth-seeded Gustavus snatched a 1-0 victory over the top-seeded Tommies.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to build off last year and keep playing good,” Krieg said. “We’ve all been working really hard in the off season from the end of last season to right up until now.
Other teams aren’t putting in as much work as we are.”

Coach Jeff Boeser said he is excited to see where the Tommie offense will be this season compared to last.

“We worked hard last year on trying to create offense, and we struggled a little bit, but we’re hoping it pays dividends off this year from all the hard work we did with this group for this year,” Boeser said.

St. Thomas locked in the No. 2 spot in the MIAC coaches’ preseason poll, trailing two points behind St. John’s.

Because the MIAC is a competitive conference, Boeser said the Tommies don’t see any particular team as their biggest threat.

“To be honest with you, right now I think every team will be our competition,” Boeser said. “Last year going in to the last weekend, eight of the nine teams were fighting for the five playoff spots, and the team that wasn’t beat us.”

Boeser said the Tommies have a target on their backs because of their high standards.

“We set the bar pretty high … we have lofty goals every year,” Boeser said. “Every team that plays us, they bring their ‘A’ game so we’re not complacent we just feel that we have to be ready to play every night and if we work hard we kind of believe that good things will happen.”

Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.