Tommie forward Broydon Stufko braces for a check from Blu Gold defender Johnny Mueller. The Tommies secured a 5-3 victory in this game against Eau Claire. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Broydon Stufko faces off against a Eau Claire defender. Stufko scored once in the third period, starting a 3-0 run against the Blu Golds. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Forward Jake Ahlgren is taken down by Blugold defender Logan Von Ruden. Ahlgren assisted a goal by Cullen Wilcox in the first period of the game. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
The Tommies defeated the Blugolds 5-3 Thursday night in Mendota Heights. St. Thomas trailed with less than five minutes left in the game, but the Tommies scored three unanswered goals to secure the vicotry. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Tommie forward Johnny Panvica races into the Blu Gold zone. Panvica recorded one assist in the Tommies’ 5-3 victory. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
A Tommie defended checks a Blu Gold forward into the glass in the St. Thomas zone. The Tommies came back from being one point down in the last 10 minutes to scoring two more goals leading to their 5-3 victory. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Jack Christensen stumbles after being checked by Blu Gold forward T.J. Stuntz. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Tommie defender Mac Watson steals the puck from Blu Gold forward T.J. Stuntz. The Tommie defense shut out Eau Claire in the final 15 minutes of the game. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
Tommie forward Tanner Barnes advances into Blu Gold territory. Barnes registered one assist in the game. (Esmee Verschoor/ Tommie Media)
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The St. Thomas men’s hockey team scored a goal with 1.9 seconds left in the first period and another with 0.4 seconds left in the second period to ignite a 5-3 victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire Thursday night at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.
It seemed as though the Blugolds (3-2 overall, 0-0 WIAC) were bound to hand the Tommies (2-2-1 overall, 0-1-1 MIAC) its third loss in five games, as St. Thomas was down 3-2 with less than five minutes left in the game. That is, until the Tommies scored three unanswered goals to finish the game.
“We’re still trying to find what our identity is,” coach Jeff Boeser said. “If it’s going to be that (never-give-up attitude), we’re going to have a lot of success this year.”
That attitude was apparent from the first period until the final buzzer, starting with St. Thomas forward Cullen Willox’s goal to tie the game 1-1 just before the first period ended.
“I was just trying to get the puck on net and get a good bounce,” Willox said. “And luckily we got one.”
Tommie forward-defenseman Colton Berg then one-upped Willox by scoring a goal with even less time on the clock to even the game up again, this time going into the third period.
“We had a lot of guys keeping the team going. It wasn’t just me. You had Colton Berg playing big, stepping up and getting his first goal,” Willox said. “We just kind of feed off that energy.”
St. Thomas took that energy into the final period, scoring three goals in a row after dropping one early in the period. Forwards Broydon Stufko and Brian LeBlanc scored in the third, as well as Willox again.
“We only have one senior and we only have three defensemen that have probably played over 20 college games, and maybe five forwards,” Boeser said. “Even though it says sophomores and juniors, there’s a lot of those kids that didn’t play a lot of games in the past. So, we’re still trying to find out what we have. It was nice to see some of our first-year players step it up tonight a little bit and play hard. It’s a work in progress.”
Willox believes this win will boost the team’s confidence moving forward.
“It was a good win to see what we have in that room and what we can expect every night now,” he said.
Though it was a big early-season victory, Boeser challenges his team to not dwell on it.
“Are we going to be satisfied, or are we going to be ready to go again Saturday and put on the same kind of show?” he said.
Up next, the team faces Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday at home. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Gamiel Hall can be reached at hall0211@stthomas.edu.