The St. Thomas men’s hockey team got off to a rocky start, falling 3-1 to St. Cloud State after giving up three goals in the first period. First-year defender Carson Peters scored the lone goal for the Tommies, taking “a big step forward” Saturday at St. Thomas Ice Arena.
The Tommies (0-1, 0-0 CCHA) opened the Division I era against St. Cloud State (1-0, 0-0 NCHC) last season and started its second season against the Huskies but with 17 new players on the roster.
“I think as a whole our team matured a lot tonight,” coach Rico Blasi said. “When you play one of the best teams in the country, you’re forced to play in a different way.”
First-year defender Carson Peters scored the Tommies’ goal in the second period, assisted by fifth-year forward Jarrett Lee. Peters played his first collegiate hockey game.
“For the last month, we have been preparing, so we knew what we were expecting and the boys have been pushing each other,” Peters said.
A shoulder-to-shoulder hit on the boards injured Husky sophomore defender Josh Luedtke in the first period. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a hospital. His condition is unknown.
“You hate to see that,” first-year goalie Aaron Trotter said. “We just have to stay focused, regardless of what happened during the game.”
Trotter saved 20 of 23 shots on goal, which Blasi said showed signs of a maturing goaltender.
“He’s always been very athletic, and I think that showed tonight too when he needed it but also made pretty simple saves as well that made it look routine, which weren’t routine,” Blasi said.
St. Cloud’s offense came out strong in the first period, scoring three times. Senior defender Dylan Anhorn put the Huskies on the board almost nine minutes into the game.
Senior forward Zach Okabe scored a little over 20 seconds later, assisted by junior forward Veeti Miettinen.
“Hockey is a great game full of mistakes, and the teams that capitalize on them and the teams that don’t dwell on those mistakes are usually the ones that go forward,” Blasi said.
A cross-checking penalty on Tommies first-year forward Lucas Wahlin gave St. Cloud a power play with over four minutes left in the first period.
The Huskies capitalized on the power play, with first-year forward Adam Ingram scoring, assisted by Miettinen and Anhorn.
There were a total of 11 penalties in the game; five against St. Thomas and six against St. Cloud. The Tommies had to fight back against the physical play of the Huskies.
“We have a lot of big guys, but as for physicality and quality, I feel like we brought just as much as they did, if not more,” Peters said.
St. Thomas faces St. Cloud State again Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center for the young St. Thomas team’s second game of the season.
“You got to challenge each other to take it a step further and elevate your performance, and we’re going to try to do that tomorrow night,” Blasi said.
Natalie Hoepner can be reached at hoep8497@stthomas.edu.