St. Thomas Takes Control of CCHA Lead with Blistering Win Over Minnesota State
The St. Thomas Tommies stormed into a tie for first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standings after crushing Minnesota State 4-2 at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Saturday night.
The visitors exploded out of the gate, scoring four goals in just over three minutes in the middle frame to take a commanding lead. Lucas Wahlin opened the scoring with a strike just 20 seconds into the second period, before Attila Lippai and Quinton Pepper scored consecutive goals at 6:35 and 6:52. Ryan O'Neill sealed the deal at 7:33, and St. Thomas's offense continued to pour in assists from Alex Gaffney, Bauer Berry, Lucas Van Vliet, Nick Williams, Caige Sterzer, and Mason Poolman in the span of under a minute.
Despite Minnesota State's late goals in the third period, it was too little, too late to spoil UST goaltender Aaron Trotter's bid for a shutout. The freshman netminder made 18 saves on the night as the Tommies took full advantage of their scoring opportunities.
With the win, St. Thomas (12-7-3 overall, 9-3-2 CCHA) earned its 30th point in conference play and moved into a tie with Augustana atop the standings, while Minnesota State dropped to third place with 28 points. The Tommies will look to build on their momentum when they host Bemidji State next Friday and Saturday at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, with both games set to begin at 7 p.m.
The St. Thomas Tommies stormed into a tie for first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standings after crushing Minnesota State 4-2 at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Saturday night.
The visitors exploded out of the gate, scoring four goals in just over three minutes in the middle frame to take a commanding lead. Lucas Wahlin opened the scoring with a strike just 20 seconds into the second period, before Attila Lippai and Quinton Pepper scored consecutive goals at 6:35 and 6:52. Ryan O'Neill sealed the deal at 7:33, and St. Thomas's offense continued to pour in assists from Alex Gaffney, Bauer Berry, Lucas Van Vliet, Nick Williams, Caige Sterzer, and Mason Poolman in the span of under a minute.
Despite Minnesota State's late goals in the third period, it was too little, too late to spoil UST goaltender Aaron Trotter's bid for a shutout. The freshman netminder made 18 saves on the night as the Tommies took full advantage of their scoring opportunities.
With the win, St. Thomas (12-7-3 overall, 9-3-2 CCHA) earned its 30th point in conference play and moved into a tie with Augustana atop the standings, while Minnesota State dropped to third place with 28 points. The Tommies will look to build on their momentum when they host Bemidji State next Friday and Saturday at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, with both games set to begin at 7 p.m.
. I mean, it's one thing to score goals, but they just kept coming! It felt like their offense was on another level tonight. Aaron Trotter was solid too, keeping that shutout bid alive with 18 saves. Still gonna be fun to watch these guys compete for the CCHA title - the atmosphere at the arena must've been electric 
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like, Aaron Trotter is a total boss! 18 saves in a big win? impressive! And can we talk about how long it took the Mavericks to score after the Tommies' insane goal streak? Like, what was going on there? 
and btw, I'm loving St Thomas's momentum, they're totally due for a playoff spot 
Stats Alert! 
. They're also tied with Augustana for the lead, which means they're gonna be tough to beat 
. Aaron Trotter's got some serious skills as a freshman goalie 
, making 18 saves and looking like a pro! The Tommies are on fire 
, can't wait to see what happens next weekend against Bemidji State 
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what's ccha tho? is it like ncaa or something? btw did you see that mason poolman guy score 3 goals in one game last week? 
I mean, four goals in like two minutes? that's insane! 
their offense is SOOO good right now and Aaron Trotter is looking like a total rockstar goalie 
anyway can't wait to see what these next two games bring! Bemidji State is gonna get smashed too 
. 4 goals in under 3 minutes? That's either superhuman scoring or way too many penalties called 
. Either way, it feels like Minnesota State got taken advantage of by St Thomas's offense. Aaron Trotter makes 18 saves and gets a shutout? That's impressive, but still... how did he not see those goals coming? 
And Augustana is just tied for first place now? Come on, can't they even maintain their own lead without someone else messing it up? 
they're killing it in ccha standings and i'm all for them taking control of that lead! aaron trotter's shutout bid was amazing 
now let's keep the momentum going for their upcoming games against bemidji state! fingers crossed for a clean sweep 
, and Minnesota State is already dropped to third place? That game was pretty insane tho, those 4 goals in under 3 minutes is like a record or something 
. And Aaron Trotter's shutout attempt is impressive, dude made some crazy saves 
. St Thomas's offense is fire 
. It highlights how important it is to be able to capitalize on scoring chances quickly, both for yourself and your team.
. That's what separates the good teams from the great ones, you know? The ability to adapt and respond under pressure. Plus, with this win, they're showing everyone that they're a force to be reckoned with in the CCHA...
️ this team is so underrated rn, people think they're just a small school from MN but they're killing it in the CCHA 
and their offense is straight fire 
St. Thomas is on FIRE right now! Their offense is UNSTOPPABLE 
That 4-goal streak in the middle frame was insane 
And now they're tied for first place with Augustana? 
. Oh, and did I mention they have the best s'mores in town? Game. Changer.