MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MINN. – Junior forward Matthew Gleason’s goal late in the first period wasn’t enough to help the St. Thomas men’s hockey team fend off the 4-1 loss to Lake Superior State Lakers Friday night in game one of the Mason Cup Playoffs, which was hosted by the Tommies for the first time in program history.
The No. 2 Tommies finished their regular in second place in the CCHA with a record of 14-18-2 (12-11-1 CCHA), a significant jump from their seventh-place finish last season.
“You know, give them credit. They played hard tonight, we played hard and they got their goals. They’re a very opportunistic team, they’re very good at scoring goals. Obviously, they’ve got some of the top scorers in our conference for a reason, you saw that tonight,” coach Rico Blasi said.
While the game started slowly and was void of penalties, there was obvious emotion built up between both teams that the No. 7 Lakers used to make the game noticeably physical one with clean checks along the boards and an occasional push after the stoppage of play.
At 16:19 in the first period, Lake Superior State struck first. Sophomore forward Connor Milburn scored for the Lakers, assisted by first-year defenseman Cam Kungle.
With five seconds left in the first period, the Tommies responded and tied the Lakers thanks to junior forward Matthew Gleason who was assisted by junior forward Tom Piechowski and sophomore forward Luc Laylin.
The second period presented a rougher Tommie squad following the quiet first period. This time, both teams received minor penalties that eventually put St. Thomas on the power play with two minutes left in the period, but they couldn’t capitalize.
“We have to execute a little bit better. We had opportunities, we missed a lot of nets. We got to try to get second opportunities against them,” Blasi said.
Lake Superior State took the lead once again with a goal by senior forward Jared Westcott assisted by Connor Millburn at 13:38 left in the second period.
The Tommies entered the third period down 2-1 to the Lakers, eager to push past Lake Superior State and take the lead for the first time in the game.
However, the Lakers had other plans. Junior forward Timo Bakos scored with help from freshman forward John Harrington and senior forward Harrison Roy, extending Lake Superior’s lead to 3-1.
Only 30 seconds later, the Lakers added insult to injury with an empty net goal after Tommie goaltender Aaron Trotter was pulled out of the game.
The time on the clock ran down leaving the Tommies down 4-1 and giving the first win of the series to Lake Superior State.
“Our effort is always there, that’s a given. They executed three plays, we didn’t. That’s really the bottom line,” Blasi said.
In a press conference following the game, head coach Rico Blasi reflected the frustration of the evening.
“We knew exactly what they were going to do, and they did exactly what they always do. That is a credit to their team and their coaching staff. They’re a team that doesn’t come out of their structure,” Coach Blasi said.
The Tommies play the Lakers in game two of the series tonight at Saint Thomas Ice Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
“It’s playoff time, you got to turn the page and get ready for the next one,” Blasi said.
Madeline Combs can be reached at comb595@stthomas.edu.