Saint John's hockey visits No. 13/14 Gustavus Adolphus in MIAC Playoff semifinal game at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at the Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
Preview Video:
-Coach Schueller (1:28)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (16-9, 10-6 MIAC) earned a series split with nationally-ranked St. Thomas last weekend, falling 3-1 Feb. 21 before earning a 1-0 win Feb. 22. St. Thomas scored three unanswered goals, including an empty-netter, in the 3-1 win Friday in Mendota Heights. The Johnnies were dealt a significant blow early, 2:52 into the game, when senior assistant captain and 2013 All-MIAC first-team forward Justin Hochsprung (Alexandria, Minn.) suffered a leg injury and left the game via ambulance. Left with 17 skaters the rest of the way, SJU took advantage of an offensive-zone penalty called on UST when junior John Haeg (Lakeville, Minn.) centered a pass off the skate of a Tommie defenseman to the back of the net 7:46 into the game. Senior Josh Gross (Maple Grove, Minn.) and junior Nick Senta (Savage, Minn.) were credited with the assists. Thomas Williams tied the game for UST with a power-play goal of his own with 1:36 left in the first period. Following a scoreless second period, Steve Sorensen provided what proved to be the game-winner with 6:30 remaining and Alex Altenbernd added the insurance goal, an empty-netter, with 21 seconds left. UST out-shot the Johnnies 28-17 in the game, including an 11-1 margin in the third period.
Senior Jason Johnson's (Duluth, Minn.) fifth goal of the season with 3:55 remaining proved to be the difference in the Johnnies' 1-0 win over St. Thomas on Saturday in St. Cloud. The loss was the first for St. Thomas in conference play, which, according to the MIAC archives, ended the Tommies' bid to become the first men's hockey program to go undefeated in conference play since the 1981-82 season (Augsburg). With the win and St. Olaf's overtime win at home against Augsburg, the two teams end the regular season tied in the MIAC standings with 29 points. The Johnnies, however, won the second tie-breaker (MIAC wins, not counting shootout victories) to earn the No. 3 seed in this week's five-team MIAC Playoffs. Junior Phil Johnson (Duluth, Minn.), no relation, fed an open Jason Johnson in the slot, who ripped a wrister past UST goaltender Drew Fielding. The game-winner was Johnson's third of the season and sixth of his career.
10-YEAR MIRROR: Soley's 21-save shutout last Saturday night was his second of the season and fourth of his collegiate career. The shutout was the first for SJU against the Tommies at the National Hockey Center in nearly 10 years to the date: a 1-0 SJU win on Feb. 21, 2004. SJU won that game on a goal from Scott Bjorklund '06 with 7:55 remaining, with Adam Hanna '06 earning the shutout in goal.
SOLEY HEATING UP: Since the three-goal first period allowed to Gustavus Feb. 1, Soley is 5-1 with a 1.33 GAA and a .942 save percentage (130 saves) in his last six games.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Gustavus moved up two spots to No. 13 in the latest USCHO.com Division III top-15 poll released Feb. 24. The Johnnies, meanwhile, picked up eight more votes for a total of nine.
A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (15-6-4, 12-3-1 MIAC) saw its seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1 record) come to an end with a pair of losses to St. Thomas Feb. 14-15, 4-2 and 4-1, only to bounce back and end the regular season with a sweep of Bethel (4-1 and 1-0) last weekend. Senior Corey Leivermann, a transfer from Division I MSU-Mankato, leads the team in all four offensive categories: goals (17), assists (11), points (28) and power-play goals (4). Six-foot-eight sophomore goaltender John McLean enters postseason play with a 14-5-2 record, a 1.96 GAA and a .920 save percentage. The Gusties have not allowed a power-play goal over their last 10 games; a span of 37 straight penalty kills (87.7 percent, 93-for-106, on the season.
FOUR WEEKS AGO: Then-No. 15 Gustavus posted its first regular-season MIAC sweep over SJU since the 1994-95 season, 2-1 and 4-1, earlier this season on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The Gusties scored two rebound goals, unanswered, in the 2-1 victory that Friday in St. Peter. Freshman defenseman Brady Riesgraf (Chaska, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a 1-0 lead on a blistering slap shot with 10:16 left in the first period. Tyler Lapic tied the game at 1-1 for Gustavus with only 1:02 into the second period and Adam Smyth made it 2-1 with another rebound goal, his 10th of the season, 4:24 into the third period. Soley made 21 saves in the loss, his first since Dec. 6 at Augsburg (3-1). GAC took control of the third period with a 12-2 shot advantage before SJU, which went 0-for-4 on the power play, registered the final eight shots on goal to finish with a 24-23 edge for the game.
The Gusties tallied three goals in the first period and to hand SJU a 4-1 loss the following night in St. Cloud. GAC started the game with a barrage of shots, out-shooting SJU by a 21-7 margin on net, including three goals and added another off the pipe. Andy Pearson snapped the Johnnies' penalty-kill streak at 34 with a power-play goal 6:13 into the game, while Corey Leivermann added a pair of goals 6:49 apart. Smyth made it 4-0 with another power-play goal 3:37 into the third period. Phil Johnson erased the shutout with his fifth goal of the season, on a deflection from Hochsprung, at the 11:48 mark of the third. Soley was saddled with the loss, stopping 18 of the 21 shots in the first period. Senior Mitch Thompson (Onalaska, Wis.) relieved Soley to start the second and made 21 saves the rest of the way as SJU was out-shot 43-28 in the contest.
SERIES HISTORY: Dating back to the 1984-85 season, SJU leads the series with a 40-25-8 record in 73 previous meetings. The Johnnies have either defeated or tied Gustavus in 37 of the last 47 meetings (30-10-7), including a 5-1 record in the MIAC Playoffs (1-1 in St. Peter). SJU head coach Doug Schueller, however, is 4-7-4 against GAC with a 1-4-2 record at the Don Roberts Ice Rink.
