Senior night didn’t go St. Thomas’ way as the men’s hockey team lost 5-1 against Lake Superior State University Saturday at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights.
The Tommies (3-28-1, 3-20-1 CCHA) were down the entirety of the game, as the Lakers (15-16-1, 11-13) scored three goals in the first five minutes of the game. St. Thomas attempted to claw out of that hole during the rest of its final home game of the season.
“They capitalized,” coach Rico Blasi said. “You got to work so hard to get out of it.”
Graduate student goalie Peter Thome was pulled just 4:49 into the game after the Lakers third goal. Graduate student Jacob Burger took his place in net.
The Tommies played hard in the second period, capped by junior forward Andrew Kangas’ first goal of the Division I era.
“I thought our second period was arguably our best period of the year,” Blasi said. “We only got one out of it, but I thought we did a decent job.”
Playing hard in the second took its toll on the Tommies, as the Lakers scored their fourth goal 4:58 into the third.
“We had to be intense,” Blasi said. “Second period we spent so much energy trying to come back in the game.”
Blasi tried to be aggressive, electing for an extra attacker with just under eight minutes left in the game. The Lakers scored an empty netter just 14 seconds later, sealing the game.
Afterward, the team held a small ceremony for its nine seniors, showing its appreciation for their leadership during the team’s first DI season.
“We’d like to get a senior night win,” graduate student defender Nolan Sawchuk said. “It’s an emotional time, but we still have a couple games.”
The Tommies play Bemidji State in Bemidji on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7:07 p.m.
Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.