The St. Thomas men’s hockey season came to a close Saturday after a 3-0 loss to Wis.-Stevens Point in the NCAA quarterfinals, ending the team’s winningest season since 2001-2002.

The Tommies went 13-1-2 in the MIAC and claimed the regular season and playoff conference titles en route to a berth in the NCAA tournament. St. Thomas also finished the season with a 21-5-2 overall record, matching the best win percentage the team’s had in 12 years.

This year was also the most successful season for the team in its four years under coach Jeff Boeser, who was named MIAC Coach-of-the-Year for the second time in three seasons. Under Boeser, St. Thomas won its third-consecutive MIAC regular season title, and earned its second NCAA tournament bid in three years. However, this year’s NCAA quarterfinals appearance is the furthest the team’s advanced in the national tournament under Boeser.

Defense was a key reason for the team’s success this year. Behind the play of an experienced defensive corps and goaltender Drew Fielding, the Tommies set a conference record for goals allowed in a season. With just 19 goals allowed in the 16-game conference season, St. Thomas topped St. John’s 22 goals allowed in the 2003-04 season.

Fielding, who was named co-MIAC Player-of-the-Year, also set an individual record for goals against average with just 1.17 goals allowed per game. Fielding’s new record replaces St. John’s Adam Hanna, who previously held the record with an average of 1.26 goals allowed, also during the 2003-04 season. Fielding also set a conference record for shutouts with seven this season.

With a record-breaking defense and consistent offense, the Tommies went undefeated in conference play until the final day of the regular season and accumulated 42 of 48 possible points in the conference standings.

After earning the regular season conference title, St. Thomas rolled through the MIAC playoffs with a pair of 2-1 victories over St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus to claim its first conference playoff title since 2010.

St. Thomas also peaked in the national polls after winning the conference title. After defeating Gustavus in the MIAC championship, the Tommies were ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll, the team’s highest national ranking since February 2000.

Despite all the accolades and accomplishments of this year’s squad, the Tommies could arguably return an even stronger team next season. This year’s team graduates just three seniors including; forwards Tyler Gubb, Bryce Walker and defenseman Alex Niestrom. Though St. Thomas loses three key members of the team, it returns Fielding, three of its top four defensemen and eight of its top-10 scorers.

St. Thomas finished the season with a trio of 20-point scorers as forwards Alex Altenbernd and Nick Nielsen both tied for the team lead in scoring with 24 points in 28 games played.

Forward Tyler Gubb finished third in team scoring with 8 goals and 12 assists in 28 games. Sophomore forwards Connor McBride and Jordan Lovick rounded out the top five in scoring with Lovick scoring 18 points and McBride scoring 17 points this season. Two freshmen also finished in the team’s top 10 in scoring as forward Thomas Williams had 16 points this year and forward Michael Dockry added 12 points.

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.