The St. Thomas men’s hockey team lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lake Superior State on Sunday night in the deciding Game 3 of the Mason Cup quarterfinals, giving up the deciding goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation.
The Tommies finished second in their division in the CCHA with an overall record of 15-20-2.
The Tommies used the first two games of the series — both played at the St. Thomas Ice Arena — to improve their game, which appeared to pay off. St. Thomas took advantage of a powerplay which allowed sophomore forward Luc Laylin to capitalize on the man advantage with a goal assisted by senior defensemen Ethan Gauer and sophomore forward Ryan O’Neill. O’Neill’s assist marked his nineteenth of the season and set a new program record.
“You know I thought our powerplay looked good, we had some really good chances. They scored the shorty, kind of give them some momentum,” Head coach Rico Blasi said.
Laylin’s ninth goal of the season around 13 minutes into the game gave the Tommies a 1-0 lead. Sophomore goaltender Aaron Trotter saved all 15 shots on goal, preserving their lead through the first period.
The second period presented the Tommies with some challenges. At just under 4:30 into the second period, Lake Superior senior forward Jared Westcott delivered a hit to first-year forward J.D. Metz, who left the game with an undisclosed injury. After official review, it was determined to be a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct against Westcott, ejecting him from the game.
Not even a minute later, despite being down one man, Lakers sophomore forward Connor Milburn scored his sixteenth goal of the season to tie the game.
Following Millburn’s goal, the sparse Lakers’ fan section broke into cheers at the now-tied game.
The remainder of the second period saw many penalties drawn by both teams. Both the Lakers and the Tommies received minor penalties for too many men on the ice after poor line changes, but the Lakers were unable to take advantage of their powerplay.
Instead, with less than five minutes left in the second period and with Tommies on another powerplay, first-year defenseman Chase Cheslock scored his first career goal assisted by first-year defenseman Mason Poolman and junior forward Liam Malmquist. St. Thomas led once again entering the third period 2-1.
“Timely goal right, for us. He’s had some really good chances. It’s hard to come in at Christmas and get thrown into the fire. This is probably Christmas for most freshmen, right? He’s really starting to come around. I’m excited about what he has in store with a full season ahead,” Blasi said.
Spirits were high going into the final 20 minutes of the game after two periods of strong gameplay.
The first 10 minutes of the period were quiet, both teams receiving minimal penalties. Finally, at 10:23, first-year Lakers forward Reagan Milburn evened the score with his second goal of the season.
Now, with the game tied 2-2, the stakes were even higher as the seconds ticked by. As the clock ran down, it looked like there was an opportunity for overtime gameplay.
However, with 6.6 seconds left in play, Lakers junior forward Dawson Tritt made a shot on goal that took an odd bounce off Trotter and put Lake Superior State ahead 3-2.
“Bad bounce. I mean I don’t there’s any way you can say it. We did everything right, went off a shin pad went right to their guy and hit the kid in the chest and down to his stick. So I don’t know maybe there was two bounces,” Blasi said.
After time ran out, the small but mighty Laker fan section broke into chants and excitedly shouted ‘Let’s go Lakers!’ as Tommie players and fans alike worked to process the sudden end to the game and the season.
“As I told the team after the game everything happens for a reason and we’re probably not going to be privileged enough to know about it for quite some time,” Blasi said.
In a press conference following the game, head coach Blasi commended the team’s efforts and expressed his gratitude for all his players. He even shed a few tears as he reflected on the seniors who would be graduating and everything they brought to the program.
“They can walk out of here with their heads held high because, in my book we talk about process, and we talk about culture, and we talk about loving each other. We finished in second,” Blasi said. ”That’s a big deal … We elevated our program, now it’s the responsibility for the rest of us that are back next year to continue to elevate the program and that’s not a task we take lightly. To our seniors that are leaving you don’t start a program from scratch without special people.”
Madeline Combs can be reached at madeline.combs@stthomas.edu.