Saint John's returns to conference play by hosting Gustavus Adolphus for Faith & Family Night this Friday, Jan. 11. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the National Hockey and Events Center in St. Cloud. The Johnnies return the trip to St. Peter for a 7:05 p.m. contest Saturday, Jan. 12, in St. Peter. – Listen Live (Both Games, Real Audio Player) | Live Stats (Friday) | Live Stats (Saturday) | Live Video (Saturday)
Preview Video:
-Head coach Doug Schueller (1:30)
FAITH & FAMILY NIGHT: Max Erickson, a former college hockey player and SJU chapel leader, is scheduled to be the special guest Friday. Admission is $7. Children, ages 7-17, will be admitted free with a non-perishable food item. All proceeds go to Catholic Charities.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (6-6-1, 1-3-0 MIAC) ended its non-conference schedule with a pair of losses in Wisconsin last weekend. Then-No. 3 Wisconsin-Eau Claire ended SJU's five-game winning streak with a 5-1 win Jan. 4. Following a scoreless and even-played first period, UWEC erupted for three even-strength goals in a 5:26 span of the second period. Senior Jascha Pettit (Wadena, Minn.) cut the deficit to 3-1 with a power-play goal with 2:27 left in the second. Junior Justin Hochsprung (Alexandria, Minn.) and sophomore John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) assisted on the goal, which was Pettit's sixth of the season. The Blugolds capitalized on an SJU turnover, just as a Johnnie power play ended, and added a power-play goal 1:38 later. Freshman Saxton Soley (Elk Mound, Wis.) made 26 saves for SJU. Eau Claire entered the game fifth in all of Division III with an average of 4.86 goals scored per game and eighth on the power play at 29.6 percent (16-for-54).
Saint John's out-shot Wisconsin-River Falls 42-18 but was 0-for-7 on the power play in a 3-1 loss on Jan. 5. After UWRF gained a 1-0 lead 6:34 into the contest, senior Tobias Linbro (Nykvarn, Sweden) tied the game with 53 seconds left into the first period. Senior Michael Palmiscno (East Grand Forks, Minn.) and junior Josh Gross (Maple Grove, Minn.) assisted on the goal, which was Linbro's second of the season. The Falcons extended their lead to 3-1 with a pair of rebound goals in the second period. SJU out-shot the home team 32-14 after the first period, including a 14-3 margin in the third. Junior Mitch Thompson (Onalaska, Wis.) made 15 saves in the loss, his second start as a Johnnie and first in over two months (Nov. 2) due to a broken hand.
SHOT DIFFERENTIAL: The Johnnies' shot advantage of 24 shots, 42-18, was the most in a loss since they tallied 25 (45-20) more shots than Saint Mary's in the 5-4 loss to the Cardinals in the 2008-09 season finale.
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS: SJU is 22-16-4 (.571) in regular-season MIAC games after Jan. 1 in the past four seasons under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller, including an 8-4 record last season.
JOHNNIE DUO PROVIDES SPARK: Although Pettit and Haeg saw their respective point streaks come to an end Jan. 5, the two solidified their spots atop the team's statistical leaderboard. Pettit registered a point in seven straight games (6g/4a), while Haeg did so in six consecutive (3g/7a). Haeg is currently second in the MIAC with 16 points (7g/9a), while Pettit has 12 (6g/6a). Pettit led the conference with 10 goals in 15 MIAC games last season and Haeg tallied 27 points (7g/20a) in 24 games as a freshman, including 22 points in conference play to finish second in the MIAC.
A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (8-6-1, 2-4-0 MIAC) is 5-1-1 in its last seven games, including a 3-2 win over St. Scholastica on Jan. 5, the Gusties' first game since Dec. 8. Senior Ryan Johnson, a transfer from Wisconsin-River Falls, leads the team with 12 points (5g/7a). Junior forward Corey Leivermann, a transfer from Division I MSU-Mankato, joined the team over Christmas break. The Gusties now have four Division I transfers on their roster: senior defenseman Brenden Baker (Holy Cross), junior defenseman Alex Gallen (Mercyhurst) and sophomore forward Tyler Lapic (Wisconsin). Three GAC goaltenders have combined for a 2.24 GAA and a .923 save percentage this season. Offensively, the Gusties have tallied 85 points (35g/50a) in 15 games, compared to 100 points (36g/64a) in 13 games for SJU.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: SJU dropped out of the “others receiving votes” category in the latest USCHO.com Division III national poll released Jan. 7. The Blugolds fell three spots to No. 6 after falling to Concordia-Moorhead 2-1 in overtime Jan. 5. UWRF received seven votes, followed by St. Thomas (four votes) and Gustavus Adolphus (one vote).
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies went 1-1-1 against GAC during the regular season before falling to the Gusties (3-1) in the MIAC Playoffs. Saint John's clawed back with two goals in the game's final seven minutes to tie Gustavus Adolphus 3-3 in the season opener for both teams Oct. 28 (2011) at the MIAC Showcase in Blaine. Hochsprung tied the game on the power play, his second career goal, at the 11:51 mark of the first period. The Gusties took advantage of a 1:40, 5-on-3 power play with a goal from Andy Pearson. Zach May added his second power-play goal of the night 4:19 later to give the Gusties a 3-1 lead. SJU received a five-minute power play via major penalty four minutes into the third period, but could not capitalize. Sophomore Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) cut the deficit to 3-2 with his first collegiate goal at the 13:24 mark of the third period before senior captain Michael Palmiscno (East Grand Forks, Minn.) tied the game with 2:02 left in regulation. Gustavus out-shot the Johnnies 32-22 on net, though SJU had 26 shots blocked in the game (63-58 advantage in total shots).
Saint John's jumped out to a 3-0 lead but could not hold off then-No. 15 Gustavus Adolphus in a 4-3 loss on Jan. 13 (2012) in St. Cloud. Pettit beat GAC goaltender John McLean glove side with a pretty wrister 6:38 into the game. Junior Trent Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) extended the lead to 2-0 with a misdirected goal off a GAC defenseman 7:21 later with assists going to the other Johnsons, Jason and Phil. The Johnnies took advantage of a 1:32, 5-on-3 power play with a goal from senior Joe Harren (Warroad, Minn.) 11:02 into the second period. May put GAC on the scoreboard with 2:55 left. SJU then successfully killed off a 5-minute Gustavus power play, which started at the 18:31 mark of the second period. The third period belonged to the Gusties, however, as the visitors posted a 13-4 advantage in shots against the fatigued Johnnies. Pearson cut the Gusties' deficit to one 4:41 into the final frame. Ryan Johnson tied it with 3:28 left and Gustav Bengston scored the game-winner on an intercepted pass 31 seconds later.
Haeg tallied two goals and Gross posted a career-high three assists as the Johnnies knocked off Gustavus 4-3 on Jan. 14 (2012) in St. Peter. A night after sprinting to a 3-0 lead only to fall 4-3, SJU followed suit once again with a 3-0 lead Saturday. Sophomore Josh Gaughan (Buffalo, Minn.) gave the Johnnies an early 1-0 lead 1:52 into the game. Haeg lit the lamp with his second goal of the season 1:18 into the second period. Pettit increased the Johnnies' lead to 3-0 with a power-play goal, his team-leading seventh tally of the season, at the 11:02 mark of the second. Cory Belisle put the Gusties on the scoreboard thanks to an extra attacker due to a delayed penalty. GAC turned the penalty into another goal, with a 5-on-3 power play, 28 seconds later. Haeg recorded his second goal of the game, unassisted, to put the visitors ahead 4-2 9:07 into the third period. With the goaltender pulled, Adam Smyth notched his eighth goal of the season to cut it to 4-3 with 1:01 remaining.
Saint John's ended its 2011-12 season with a 3-1 loss at Gustavus Adolphus in the MIAC Playoff Semifinals last Feb. 25 in St. Peter. The Johnnies looked to have tied the game at 2-2 on a shot from Trent Johnson, on the power play with under 1:40 to play, but the goal was waved off despite the goal judge's lighting of the lamp. Gustavus added a shorthanded, empty-net goal with 21 seconds remaining. Ryan Johnson gave the Gusties a 1-0 lead with a fluky goal 4:51 into the second period. Johnson unleashed a shot from behind the goal line and it ricocheted to the back of the net. Pettit tied the game at 1-1 with his team-leading 14th goal of the season with 32 seconds left in the second. Johnson scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 1:57 into the third period. SJU held a 40-26 advantage on faceoffs and outshot GAC 27-20 in the contest, but did not convert on either of the game's two power-play opportunities.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies have either defeated or tied Gustavus in 34 of the last 42 meetings (29-8-5 record) and are 19-4-1 against GAC at home since 1992-93 (17-2-1 in last 20 games at the National Hockey and Events Center in St. Cloud).
