MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – Defenseman Steve Sorensen’s third-period goal gave the St. Thomas men’s hockey team a 3-1 win in a chippy, fast-paced game over St. John’s University on Friday night at a packed St. Thomas Ice Arena.

The Tommies (19-3-2, 13-0-2) earned a win over the Johnnies (15-9, 9-6) on senior night for St. Thomas: an important event for coach Jeff Boeser and the team’s three seniors.

“We just have a really special group of seniors. They got everyone to buy in and pay the price this year,” Boeser said.

Senior captain Tyler Gubb said he knew this night was special, not only for the team, but for friends and family as well.

“We were able to pack the arena with a lot of family and friends, and I know it means a lot to me and the other guys too,” Gubb said.

The game started with a scare 2:52 into the first period, when a Johnnie crashed into the end boards. The player was taken away by stretcher in an ambulance, with special attention given to his right leg. As of midnight Friday, there was no update on the condition of the player.

The Johnnies got the scoring started at 7:46 of the first period on a power-play goal from forward John Haeg. Haeg took a feed from the corner from defenseman Nick Senta, and tapped it through St. Thomas goaltender Drew Fielding’s five-hole for the first goal of the game.

Johnnie Trent Johnson took a slashing penalty at 16:36, and the Tommies capitalized with a power-play goal of their own. After Johnnie goaltender Saxton Soley stopped forward Bryce Walker’s initial shot, forward Thomas Williams smacked the rebound into the open net at 18:24 of the first period.

Both teams had a handful of scoring chances in a hard-fought second period. Both goalies were equal to the task though, turning away all shots faced in the period. The Johnnies outshot the Tommies 10-7 in the second.

The third period saw the Tommies take late scoring control and net two goals. Defenseman Steve Sorensen scored the game-winning goal at 13:30 in the third period. Sorensen took a feed in the high slot from forward Connor McBride, and using a screen by a St. John’s defender, beat Soley on the high glove side.

Sorensen gave all credit to McBride for the perfect pass that set up his winning goal.

“Another great pass by him; he fed one through the guys stick and left me a wide open lane,” Sorensen said.

Forward Alex Altenbernd added an empty-net goal with 40 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Tommies.

Boeser said he was impressed with the way his team battled all game and managed to grind out a win in the third period.

“(St. John’s) played hard; their goalie played great, but we just found a way to win in the third period, and I’m proud of my guys for that,” Boeser said.

The win concludes the regular season home schedule for St. Thomas, but Boeser said the season finale at St. John’s on Saturday night will not be taken lightly.

“We’re preparing for playoff hockey, so every game is important to us,” Boeser said.

St. Thomas travels to St. Cloud on Saturday to face St. John’s again in the series finale. If the Tommies win or tie the game, they would be the first team in 32 seasons to go unbeaten in conference play.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu