First-year defenseman Cole Miller scored his first collegiate goal against Bemidji State on Friday at St. Thomas Ice Arena, but it was soured by the 6-5 overtime loss.

St. Thomas (13-15-2, 11-8-1 CCHA) faced Bemidji State (13-5-2, 11-7-2 CCHA) for the third time this season. After the back-and-forth game, the Beavers took their third win over the Tommies.

“I am proud of our guys, we went through a lot,” St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi said after the game.

The Tommies started the first period strong with 13 shots on goal to Bemidji State’s nine. Twelve minutes into the game, the Beavers secured the puck and senior forward Austin Jouppi scored the first goal.

St. Thomas forward Luc Laylin managed to tie it up with assistance from senior defenseman Ethan Gauer and sophomore forward Ryan O’Neill. Sophomore goalkeeper Aaron Trotter allowed another goal, giving the Beavers a 2-1 lead entering the second period.

“We had a scare in the first period, in the first intermission, and it is pretty tough to come back after what we saw,” Blasi said.

The second period started rough for the Tommies with a high bounce puck that slipped past Trotter, falling back down for a goal from Bemidji State junior forward Donte Lawson, and increasing the deficit to two points.

St. Thomas challenged the goal but the referees upheld the call on the ice. The Bemidji State faithfuls were well represented and made sure the arena heard it. From that moment on, a new-found intensity turned into a few scuffles, forcing the referees to intervene.

45 seconds before the end of the second period, the Tommies had a prime chance with another power play. Tommie first-year defenseman Mason Poolman took possession of the puck after a scramble in front of the Beavers’ crease and put St. Thomas within one.

“We just kept coming back,” Blasi said.

The third period was more of the same offensive intensity. Four minutes into the third period, St. Thomas defenseman Cole Miller scored his first collegiate goal and evened out the score, 4-4.

The Beavers put one away one more time, forcing the Tommies to play with six skaters for the last two and a half minutes.

Blasi’s decision paid off and St. Thomas fifth-year forward Luke Manning tied the game with just 45 seconds left.

The arena erupted in applause but was eventually silenced. The duel went into overtime, resulting in a Bemidji State win, awarding them two more conference points and keeping them at the top of the CCHA standings.

“Give them credit. They are in the first place for a reason. They’ve got depth on their forwards. We battled with them tonight,” Blasi said.

St. Thomas nets one point from the overtime loss which results in an undisputed second place in the conference, breaking their tie with Minnesota State and Bowling Green, who both lost on Friday.

“It was a good hockey game … I think we were playing pretty good for three periods,” Blasi said.

The puck will drop at 6:07 p.m. for St. Thomas’ final game against Bemidji State on Saturday, Feb. 24 at St. Thomas Ice Arena. The Tommies will travel to Houghton, Michigan for a final weekend series against Michigan Tech at John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena on March 1.

Daniela Kopřivová can be reached at kopr1448@stthomas.edu.
Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.