MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The St. Thomas men’s hockey team exploded for its highest goal output so far this season. Center Alex Altenbernd tallied a goal and an assist in a 5-1 domination of Concordia-Moorhead (5-4-2 overall, 2-2-1 MIAC) Friday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

St. Thomas (4-3-2 overall, 3-1-1 MIAC) dictated the tempo and controlled the game from the drop of the puck. The Tommies scored three times in the first period and peppered Cobber goalie Alex Reichle with 16 shots in the opening frame. Altenbernd said the team’s offensive struggles in its last game was motivation Friday.

“We’ve just been getting away with how we should be playing. We’ve been hanging around the perimeter and not really getting into the greasy areas in front of the net where you need to be to score goals,” Altenbernd said. “We were able to get to those areas tonight, and it showed on the scoreboard.”

The Tommies’ top line created havoc in the offensive zone all night and opened the scoring after applying relentless pressure. Forward Chris Cass capitalized on a rebound and beat Reichle 4:27 into the game for his second goal of the season. Altenbernd and forward Willie Faust were credited with the assists. The trio of Cass, Altenbernd and Faust has now combined for 20 points this season through nine games.

Defenseman David Russ made the score 2-0 in favor of St. Thomas with 3:28 left in the first period. Forward Jordan Lovick sent a pass from the corner up to forward Michael Dockry. After holding the puck near the blue line, Dockry found Russ speeding into the Cobbers’ zone. Russ took the feed and raced alongside the boards before chipping the puck to the front of the net, where it bounced around before sliding under Reichle’s leg pads for the goal.

“I just got a pass across from (Dockry), and I got down low, and I threw it out front and just tried to get it to hit some skates,” Russ said. “It was kind of a lucky goal, but that’s how it has to be sometimes.”

St. Thomas increased its lead to 3-0 with six seconds left in the first. After Reichle kicked forward John Kirtland’s shot right back out in front of the net, forward Nick Nielsen corralled the rebound, turned around with the puck and fired a shot past the Cobber goalie for his second goal of the year.

St. Thomas outshot Concordia 29-26, and Russ said the Tommies “make a goal every game to get so many pucks on net.” Coach Jeff Boeser said the Tommies’ offensive success against the Cobbers will hopefully lead to even more later in the season.

“We’ve been playing well. We just aren’t scoring like we want to be,” Boeser said. “It’s nice to see some goals tonight, and maybe that helps our confidence.”

After the strong finish to the first period, the Tommies struck once again just 1:16 into the second. After receiving Cass’ pass from the St. Thomas zone, Faust zoomed through the neutral zone into Concordia’s end on a odd-man rush with Altenbernd. Faust hesitated enough to draw the Cobber defender toward him before sliding the puck over to Altenbernd, who tapped it home to make it 4-0. The Tommies transitioned from defense to offense quickly on the goal, something that Altenbernd said is important for creating scoring chances.

“If we play team defense first, offense will kind of take care of itself,” Altenbernd said. “We know that if we keep playing team defense and limit the other team’s chances, bounces will go our way, and we’ll start to score some goals.”

Concordia avoided the shutout and answered back with a goal 40 seconds later by forward Dalton Mills to cut St. Thomas’ lead to 4-1. Aside from the lone Cobber goal, Tommie goaltender Joe Morris – starting his second career game at St. Thomas – turned away 25 shots to earn his first win of the year.

“The defense played great, and there’s rarely a shot from inside the house,” Morris said. “Everything that’s kept to the outside is easier for me to see, and if a rebound did get away from me, the team was there to clean it up.”

Boeser said he has been happy with St. Thomas’ defensive play this season, and Friday’s game was no different.

“We’ve only given up 13 goals in nine games, so we’re happy with our defense,” Boeser said. “We know that if we give up two goals or less a game, we have a great chance to win.”

Forward Cory Kapeller stretched the Tommies’ lead to 5-1 just under four minutes into the third period when he beat backup Cobber goaltender Jordyn Kaufer. Forward Chris Benson and defenseman Charlie Donlin were credited with assists.

St. Thomas will host Concordia-Moorhead again at 2 p.m. Saturday in the second game of a weekend series with the Cobbers. Boeser said the Tommies can’t take their opponent lightly and they need to come prepared.

“It’s nice for the win, but it will be nullified if we don’t come to work (Saturday),” Boeser said.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.