2021–22 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey season was the 98th season of play for the program, the 1st in Division I and the 1st season in the CCHA conference. The Tommies represented the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) and were coached by Enrico Blasi, in his 1st season.

2021–22 St. Thomas Tommies
men's ice hockey season
Conference8th CCHA
Home iceSt. Thomas Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall3–32–1
Conference3–22–1
Home2–10–1
Road1–22–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachEnrico Blasi
Assistant coachesLeon Hayward
Cory Laylin
St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

Season edit

St. Thomas began its first season at the Division I level knowing that it wasn't expected to compete with many of its new opponents. While the roster was full of transfers from other D-I programs, few had been high-level players. The Tommies began their season with a bad if unsurprising 2–12 loss to the defending national runner-up, St. Cloud State. The second game, however, was much better; even though it was a loss, it was a much closer affair and demonstrated that St. Thomas could at least rise to the level of play.

While the Tommies started the season 0–7, there were a few close games and the team finally broke through with its first D-I win in late October. After the victory, the St. Thomas offense went dormant for several months, scoring more than 2 goals on just one occasion until mid-January. The 15-game losing streak that resulted made it very difficult for St. Thomas to do anything but finish last in the CCHA standings.

The scoring picked up slightly in the later part of the season, and the Tommies were able to get two more wins before the season was out, but it was hardly a shock when St. Thomas was ranked as the worst team at the Division I level by season's end.

Departures edit

Player Position Nationality Cause
Tucker Bender Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Jackson Bond Forward   United States Transferred to Hamline
Chris Conway Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Lewis Crosby Forward   United States Transferred to St. John's
Phil Fromberger Defenseman   Canada Graduation (retired)
Will Graves Goaltender   United States Left program (retired)
Kyle Gudme Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Sam Huff Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Charlie Kiefer Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Ian Mageau Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Josh Maucieri Forward   United States Transferred to St. John's
Austin Nault Forward   Canada Transferred to Marian
Josh Norman Forward   United States Transferred to Lake Forest
Max Osborne Defenseman   United States Transferred to St. John's
John Pesek Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Jake Peterson Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Luke Radetic Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Zac Risteau Forward   United States Left program (retired)
John Serafin Defenseman   United States Transferred to Endicott
Anthony Szurlej Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Jack Vincent Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Spencer Zwiener Forward   United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting edit

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Michael Ferrandino Defenseman   United States 21 Lisle, IL
Ethan Gauer Defenseman   United States 21 Farmington, MN; transfer from Bemidji State
Kyler Grundy Forward   United States 21 Pleasant Prairie, WI
Matthew Jennings Forward   United States 24 Buford, GA; transfer from Ohio State
Trevor LeDonne Defenseman   Canada 18 Stoney Creek, ON
Tim Piechowski Forward   United States 20 Eden Prairie, MN
Cameron Recchi Forward   United States 20 Pittsburgh, PA
Sam Renlund Forward   United States 21 Verona, WI; transfer from Colorado College
Nolan Sawchuk Defenseman   United States 23 Burnsville, MN; transfer from Massachusetts Lowell
Paul Schmid Forward   Austria 21 Linz, AUT
John Schuldt Defenseman   United States 24 Minnetonka, MN; transfer from Omaha
Peter Thome Goaltender   United States 24 Minneapolis, MN; graduate transfer from North Dakota; selected 155th overall in 2016
Christiano Versich Forward   United States 24 Saint Paul, MN; transfer from Colorado College
Blaine Warnert Forward   United States 21 Chaska, MN
Trevor Zins Defenseman   United States 21 St. Michael, MN; transfer from St. Cloud State

Roster edit

As of September 9, 2021.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1   Peter Thome Graduate G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1997-05-24 Minneapolis, Minnesota North Dakota (NCHC) CBJ, 155th overall 2016
2   Trevor Zins Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-07-23 St. Michael, Minnesota St. Cloud State (NCHC)
3   Michael Ferrandino Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-03-17 Lisle, Illinois Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
4   Nolan Sawchuk Graduate D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-09-25 Burnsville, Minnesota UMass Lowell (HEA)
5   Vincent Weis Sophomore D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-06-04 Madison, Wisconsin Madison (USHL)
8   Cameron Recchi Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-05-24 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Salmon Arm (BCHL)
9   Matthew Jennings Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1997-06-07 Buford, Georgia Ohio State (Big Ten)
10   Andrew Kangas Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-01-28 Mahtomedi, Minnesota Minot (NAHL)
11   Lucas McGregor Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-09-08 Lino Lakes, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL)
12   Tim Piechowski Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-12-08 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Bismarck (NAHL)
14   Shayne Monahan Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-09-20 Lakeville, Minnesota Syracuse Jr. Stars (NCDC)
15   Grant Loven Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-12-21 East Grand Forks, Minnesota Northern Michigan (WCHA)
16   Luke Manning Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-04-13 Stillwater, Minnesota Air Force (AHA)
17   Paul Schmid Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2000-06-10 Linz, Austria Amarillo (NAHL)
18   Ethan Gauer Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-12-23 Farmington, Minnesota Bemidji State (WCHA)
19   Justin Kelley Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-08-23 Maple Grove, Minnesota Minot (NAHL)
20   Aaron Swanson Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-05-10 Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Maryland (NAHL)
21   Joey Sofo Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-08-07 Sylvania, Ohio Alaska Anchorage (WCHA)
22   John Schuldt Graduate D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 1997-02-10 Minnetonka, Minnesota Omaha (NCHC)
23   Trevor LeDonne Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-02-27 Stoney Creek, Ontario Nanaimo (BCHL)
24   Logan Ommen Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-07-25 Bolingbrook, Illinois Corpus Christi (NAHL)
26   Blaine Warnert Freshman F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-07-17 Chaska, Minnesota Minot (NAHL)
27   Kyler Grundy Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-19 Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Green Bay (USHL)
28   Kimball Johnson Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-23 Coppell, Texas Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
29   Christiano Versich Graduate F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1997-01-02 Kelly Lake, Minnesota Colorado College (NCHC)
31   Jacob Berger Senior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-07-01 Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnesota State (WCHA)
35   Henry Baribeau Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-10-15 Hudson, Wisconsin New Ulm (NA3HL)
39   Sam Renlund Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-04 Verona, Wisconsin Des Moines (USHL)

Standings edit

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Minnesota State †* 26 23 3 0 2 0 0 67 115 28 44 38 6 0 178 60
#14 Michigan Tech 26 16 8 2 2 4 0 54 93 53 37 21 13 3 118 75
Bemidji State 26 14 12 0 1 1 0 42 83 81 39 19 20 0 118 121
Lake Superior State 26 13 13 0 1 1 0 39 69 64 37 18 18 1 107 104
Northern Michigan 26 12 13 1 3 0 1 35 86 99 37 20 16 1 132 136
Bowling Green 26 11 14 1 2 1 0 33 67 87 37 15 19 3 94 119
Ferris State 26 9 16 1 2 2 0 28 66 99 36 11 24 1 90 135
St. Thomas 26 3 22 1 0 4 0 14 45 112 36 3 32 1 61 168
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results edit

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 2 6:07 PM at #2 St. Cloud State* Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota   Thome L 2–12  4,151 0–1–0
October 3 4:37 PM #2 St. Cloud State* Xcel Energy CenterSt. Paul, Minnesota   Thome L 0–2  4,261 0–2–0
October 8 5:37 PM at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Thome L 1–4  2,532 0–3–0 (0–1–0)
October 9 5:37 PM at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan   Thome L 3–8  3,080 0–4–0 (0–2–0)
October 15 6:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Berger L 1–3  0 0–5–0 (0–3–0)
October 16 5:07 PM at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan   Thome L 3–6  1,646 0–6–0 (0–4–0)
October 22 7:07 PM Ferris State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 1–2 OT 0 0–7–0 (0–5–0)
October 23 7:07 PM Ferris State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome W 5–2  0 1–7–0 (1–5–0)
October 29 6:05 PM at Arizona State* Oceanside Ice ArenaTempe, Arizona   Thome L 2–5  0 1–8–0
October 30 6:05 PM at Arizona State* Oceanside Ice ArenaTempe, Arizona   Berger L 2–5  900 1–9–0
November 5 6:07 PM at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Thome L 2–4  1,676 1–10–0 (1–6–0)
November 6 6:07 PM at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio   Thome L 0–3  1,811 1–11–0 (1–7–0)
November 18 7:07 PM at #3 Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota CCMk–14 Thome L 0–9  3,875 1–12–0 (1–8–0)
November 20 7:07 PM #3 Minnesota State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 0–5  885 1–13–0 (1–9–0)
November 23 7:07 PM at Penn State* St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Berger L 1–5  559 1–14–0
November 24 7:07 PM at Penn State* St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota   Berger L 1–4  544 1–15–0
December 3 7:07 PM Bemidji State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 2–5  664 1–16–0 (1–10–0)
December 4 7:07 PM Bemidji State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 1–6  567 1–17–0 (1–11–0)
December 10 6:07 PM at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan   Thome L 1–6  2,060 1–18–0 (1–12–0)
December 11 5:07 PM at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan   Berger L 3–4  2,589 1–19–0 (1–13–0)
January 7 7:07 PM Bowling Green St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 2–4  504 1–20–0 (1–14–0)
January 8 7:07 PM Bowling Green St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Berger L 1–2 OT 540 1–21–0 (1–15–0)
January 14 6:07 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   Thome L 1–3  1,647 1–22–0 (1–16–0)
January 15 5:07 PM at Ferris State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan   Thome W 4–3  1,749 2–22–0 (2–16–0)
January 20 7:07 PM #2 Minnesota State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Berger L 1–5  684 2–23–0 (2–17–0)
January 22 7:07 PM at #2 Minnesota State Blakeslee StadiumMankato, Minnesota (Hockey Day Minnesota) BSN Thome L 1–7  - 2–24–0 (2–18–0)
February 4 7:07 PM #15 Michigan Tech St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome T 3–3 SOL 708 2–24–1 (2–18–1)
February 5 7:07 PM #15 Michigan Tech St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 0–2  790 2–25–1 (2–19–1)
February 11 10:07 PM at Alaska* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Thome L 1–6  1,650 2–26–1
February 12 10:07 PM at Alaska* Carlson CenterFairbanks, Alaska   Berger L 3–7  1,738 2–27–1
February 18 7:07 PM Lake Superior State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome W 2–1  643 3–27–1 (3–19–1)
February 19 7:07 PM Lake Superior State St. Thomas Ice ArenaMendota Heights, Minnesota   Thome L 1–5  521 3–28–1 (3–20–1)
February 25 7:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Thome L 3–5  2,275 3–29–1 (3–21–1)
February 26 6:07 PM at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota   Thome L 3–4 OT 2,112 3–30–1 (3–22–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 4 7:07 PM at #1 Minnesota State* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal game 1)   Thome L 2–3  3,351 3–31–1
March 5 6:07 PM at #1 Minnesota State* Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, Minnesota (Quarterfinal game 2)   Thome L 2–8  3,627 3–32–1
St. Thomas Lost Series 0–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Central Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics edit

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Christiano Versich RW 31 5 11 16 8
Luke Manning C 36 8 7 15 12
Matt Jennings C 35 4 11 15 24
Cameron Recchi C/LW 35 5 8 13 14
Kyler Grundy F 31 7 5 12 14
Grant Loven C 35 7 5 12 18
Trevor Zins D 35 3 8 11 18
Tim Piechowski RW 32 5 5 10 8
Nolan Sawchuk D 36 1 9 10 10
Joe Sofo F 24 3 6 9 2
Kimball Johnson D 23 2 6 8 12
Ethan Gauer D 32 2 5 7 26
Blaine Warnert F 26 2 1 3 8
Sam Renlund F 7 1 2 3 10
Lucas McGregor F 13 1 2 3 4
Trevor LeDonne D 27 1 2 3 26
John Schuldt D 32 1 2 3 51
Andrew Kangas F 33 1 2 3 10
Aaron Swanson F 34 2 0 2 43
Logan Ommen F 9 0 2 2 2
Justin Kelley F 18 0 1 1 2
Vincent Weis D 21 0 1 1 22
Paul Schmid F 25 0 1 1 11
Michael Ferrandino D 26 0 1 1 0
Henry Baribeau G 2 0 0 0 0
Shayne Monahan D 13 0 0 0 8
Jacob Berger G 17 0 0 0 0
Peter Thome G 29 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 2
Total 61 101 162 367

[3]

Goaltending statistics edit

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Henry Baribeau 2 3:13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0.00
Jacob Berger 17 644 0 8 0 44 293 0 .869 4.10
Peter Thome 29 1522 3 24 1 115 811 0 .876 4.53
Empty Net - 18 - - - 9 - - - -
Total 36 2168 3 32 1 168 1107 0 .868 4.65

Rankings edit

Poll Week
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 (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

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "2021–22 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". The University of St. Thomas. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "St. Thomas 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Univ. of St. Thomas 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.