# 2022–23 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 St. Thomas Tommies men's ice hockey season was the 99th season of play for the program, the 2nd in Division I and the 2nd in the CCHA conference. The Tommies represented the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and were coached by Enrico Blasi, in his second season.

## Season

After a predictably terrible season, the first for the program at the Division I level, coach Blasi continued his task of turning the Tommies into a competitive team. With more than half of the team being new, there were sure to be changes but the roster turnover meant that getting the team to gel together would take time. The offense, which had been one of the worst in the nation in 2022, didn't see much improvement early in the season. In the first 14 games, the Tommies scored more than two goals in just four matches. Averaging just over two goals per game, the team got off to an ugly start (2–12). While their record was awful, the team did show improvement on the defensive end. St. Thomas was allowing far fewer shots and goals against and half of their losses were by only one goal.
Just after Thanksgiving, the Tommies posted their first weekend sweep at the D-I level. Using the milestone as a benchmark, St. Thomas saw a vast improvement to their performance over the remainder of the season. A modest increase in both offensive production and defensive efficiency enabled the team to post a .500 record over their final 18 games. While the Tommies couldn't string together anything resembling a winning streak, they also never lost more than two in a row during that stretch. St. Thomas was also able to post its first two wins over ranked teams, defeating both Michigan Tech and Minnesota State on the road. Though they couldn't improve on their conference position much due to the team's poor start, the wins piled up to the point where the Tommies had a respectable total by the end of the year.
St. Thomas finished the season as the 7th seed in the CCHA tournament and, though they weren't predicted to win, they still outperformed expectations. The Tommies pushed Tech to the limit in both games, ultimately falling short by a single goal in both.
While the team did finish the season 12 games under .500, the program had come a long way over the course of the season. Not only did they nearly quadruple the win total from 2022, but they increased their goal production by 27 while cutting down on the goals allowed by 51. Even with a losing record, the program could still chalk this season up as a success.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Jacob Berger | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Michael Ferrandino | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Augsburg |
| Kyler Grundy | Forward | United States | Transferred to UW-Eau Claire |
| Kimball Johnson | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Utica |
| Justin Kelley | Forward | United States | Transferred to Bethel |
| Grant Loven | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Canisius |
| Lucas McGregor | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Shayne Monahan | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Logan Ommen | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Sam Renlund | Forward | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Paul Schmid | Forward | Austria | Transferred to Norwich |
| John Schuldt | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Joe Sofo | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers) |
| Aaron Swanson | Forward | United States | Transferred to UW-Eau Claire |
| Peter Thome | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Idaho Steelheads) |
| Christiano Versich | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise) |
| Vincent Weis | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Augsburg |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Jake Braccini | Forward | United States | 21 | Hanover, MN |
| Mack Byers | Forward | United States | 23 | Long Lake, MN; transfer from Northern Michigan |
| Garrett Daly | Forward | United States | 23 | Lakeville, MN; transfer from Bowling Green |
| Grant Docter | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Golden Valley, MN; transfer from Michigan Tech |
| Joshua Eernisse | Forward | United States | 20 | Apple Valley, MN |
| Cooper Gay | Forward | United States | 20 | Edina, MN |
| Luke Kron | Forward | United States | 20 | Andover, MN |
| Luc Laylin | Forward | United States | 20 | St. Michael, MN |
| Jarrett Lee | Forward | United States | 23 | Hibbing, MN; graduate transfer from Minnesota Duluth |
| Ryan O'Neill | Forward | United States | 21 | Roseville, MN |
| Quinton Pepper | Forward | Canada | 20 | London, ON |
| Carson Peters | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Minneapolis, MN |
| Ethan Roberts | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Cary, NC |
| Braidan Simmons-Fischer | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Detroit, MI |
| Aaron Trotter | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Victoria, BC |
| Lucas Wahlin | Forward | United States | 21 | Woodbury, MN |

## Roster

As of July 21, 2022.

## Standings

2022–23 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #12 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 52 | 83 | 56 | 39 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 126 | 81 |
| #13 Michigan Tech | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 68 | 54 | 39 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 103 | 88 |
| Bowling Green | 26 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 89 | 76 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 114 | 114 |
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 82 | 77 | 38 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 123 | 103 |
| Bemidji State | 26 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 73 | 63 | 36 | 14 | 17 | 5 | 94 | 97 |
| Ferris State | 26 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 62 | 91 | 37 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 92 | 131 |
| St. Thomas | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 69 | 81 | 36 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 86 | 117 |
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 52 | 80 | 36 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 71 | 118 |
| Championship: March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 1 | 6:00 PM | #13 St. Cloud State* | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 1–3 | 975 | 0–1–0 |
| October 2 | 4:00 PM | at #13 St. Cloud State* | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota | FOX 9+ | Roberts | L 0–4 | 3,284 | 0–2–0 |
| October 7 | 7:07 PM | Alaska* | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–4 | 821 | 0–3–0 |
| October 8 | 6:07 PM | Alaska* | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 738 | 1–3–0 |
| October 14 | 7:07 PM | USNTDP* | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota (Exhibition) | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–5 | | |
| October 21 | 6:00 PM | at #18 Penn State* | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Trotter | L 2–6 | 6,034 | 1–4–0 |
| October 22 | 6:00 PM | at #18 Penn State* | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Trotter | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 6,243 | 1–5–0 |
| October 28 | 6:07 PM | at Ferris State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,847 | 1–6–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 29 | 5:07 PM | at Ferris State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | W 5–2 | 1,823 | 2–6–0 (1–1–0) |
| November 4 | 7:07 PM | #6 Minnesota State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–10 | 961 | 2–7–0 (1–2–0) |
| November 5 | 6:07 PM | at #6 Minnesota State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota | KEYC | Roberts | L 3–4 | 5,094 | 2–8–0 (1–3–0) |
| November 11 | 6:07 PM | at Bowling Green | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–3 | 2,204 | 2–9–0 (1–4–0) |
| November 12 | 6:07 PM | at Bowling Green | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–3 | 2,467 | 2–10–0 (1–5–0) |
| November 18 | 7:07 PM | Michigan Tech | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–6 | 816 | 2–11–0 (1–6–0) |
| November 19 | 6:07 PM | Michigan Tech | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 3–4 | 815 | 2–12–0 (1–7–0) |
| November 25 | 7:07 PM | Lake Superior State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 4–0 | 646 | 3–12–0 (2–7–0) |
| November 26 | 6:07 PM | Lake Superior State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 2–1 | 568 | 4–12–0 (3–7–0) |
| December 2 | 7:07 PM | at Bemidji State | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 4–6 | 2,064 | 4–13–0 (3–8–0) |
| December 3 | 6:07 PM | at Bemidji State | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | T 2–2 $^{SOL}$ | 1,617 | 4–13–1 (3–8–1) |
| December 16 | 7:07 PM | Ferris State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 7–4 | 615 | 5–13–1 (4–8–1) |
| December 17 | 6:07 PM | Ferris State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–4 | 645 | 5–14–1 (4–9–1) |
| December 31 | 2:00 PM | at Minnesota Duluth* | AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota (Exhibition) | MY9 | Trotter | L 1–2 | 5,746 | |
| January 13 | 6:07 PM | at #13 Michigan Tech | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | L 0–2 | 2,873 | 5–15–1 (4–10–1) |
| January 14 | 5:07 PM | at #13 Michigan Tech | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | W 3–2 | 3,324 | 6–15–1 (5–10–1) |
| January 19 | 7:07 PM | Bowling Green | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 4–2 | 490 | 7–15–1 (6–10–1) |
| January 20 | 7:07 PM | Bowling Green | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | T 3–3 $^{SOL}$ | 739 | 7–15–2 (6–10–2) |
| January 27 | 8:00 PM | at Arizona State* | Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona | | Trotter | L 0–4 | 4,336 | 7–16–2 |
| January 28 | 8:00 PM | at Arizona State* | Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona | | Trotter | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 4,464 | 7–17–2 |
| February 3 | 7:07 PM | at #13 Minnesota State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota | KEYC | Trotter | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 4,814 | 8–17–2 (7–10–2) |
| February 4 | 6:07 PM | #13 Minnesota State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–5 | 1,080 | 8–18–2 (7–11–2) |
| February 10 | 7:07 PM | Northern Michigan | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 0–3 | 898 | 8–19–2 (7–12–2) |
| February 11 | 6:07 PM | Northern Michigan | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 4–2 | 870 | 9–19–2 (8–12–2) |
| February 17 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | L 1–2 | 1,150 | 9–20–2 (8–13–2) |
| February 18 | 5:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan | FloHockey | Trotter | W 2–1 | 1,763 | 10–20–2 (9–13–2) |
| February 24 | 7:07 PM | at Bemidji State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | W 3–1 | 775 | 11–20–2 (10–13–2) |
| February 25 | 6:07 PM | at Bemidji State | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota | FloHockey | Trotter | L 2–7 | 924 | 11–21–2 (10–14–2) |
| CCHA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 3 | 6:07 PM | at #11 Michigan Tech* | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1) | FloHockey | Trotter | L 0–1 | 2,338 | 11–22–2 |
| March 4 | 5:07 PM | at #11 Michigan Tech* | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2) | FloHockey | Trotter | L 4–5 | 2,587 | 11–23–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Mack Byers | LW | 36 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 6 |
| Josh Eernisse | F | 36 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 54 |
| Luc Laylin | F | 36 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 29 |
| Lucas Wahlin | F | 26 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 20 |
| Ryan O'Neill | F | 36 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 8 |
| Jake Braccini | RW | 32 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 9 |
| Luke Manning | C | 35 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| Cameron Recchi | C/LW | 35 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 25 |
| Jarrett Lee | F | 34 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 18 |
| Trevor Zins | D | 34 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Cooper Gay | RW | 30 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Tim Piechowski | RW | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Ethan Gauer | D | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Grant Docter | D | 25 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 |
| Carson Peters | D | 36 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Trevor LeDonne | D | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Matthew Jennings | C | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Quinton Pepper | RW | 34 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Nolan Sawchuk | D | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Andrew Kangas | F | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Aaron Trotter | G | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Garrett Daly | D | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 |
| Braidan Simmons-Fischer | D | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28 |
| Ethan Roberts | G | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Luke Perunovich | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| Henry Baribeau | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blaine Warnert | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Kron | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Total | | | 86 | 137 | 223 | 379 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Henry Baribeau | 1 | 2:03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Aaron Trotter | 34 | 1988:07 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 99 | 943 | 1 | .905 | 2.99 |
| Ethan Roberts | 7 | 172:10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 86 | 0 | .869 | 4.53 |
| Empty Net | - | 21:48 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2162:20 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 117 | 1030 | 1 | .902 | 3.22 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | - | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2023 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 5 | 154 | Chase Cheslock $^†$ | New Jersey Devils |
† incoming freshman