BGSU Hockey (5-3, 2-0 CCHA) had two good wins to start the CCHA season, both against Ferris State at home. It was the first CCHA win, home win, CCHA sweep, and home sweep of the Dennis Williams era, giving the Falcons the maximum six standing points in two games.
But the Bulldogs were a sizably easier opponent than the second BG matchup of the conference schedule: the St. Thomas Tommies (2-5-2, 1-2-1 CCHA).
If you’ve kept up with CCHA hockey in the last year, you’ll know that the Tommies will be accepted into the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) starting in 2026. The NCHC is one of, if not the, best conferences in NCAA hockey, with competitors like North Dakota, Denver, St. Cloud State, and Western Michigan.
It’s an understandable move for both parties given St. Thomas is in St. Paul, Minnesota (a huge hockey city and state), building a new arena and having one of the best teams in the CCHA.
Over the three full seasons of the new CCHA’s existence, St. Thomas greatly improved in every campaign, from standing last to sixth to second in 2023-24. Not to mention a second-place finish while dealing with injuries taking out a few top forwards down the stretch.
The forward group is one of the best and most experienced in the CCHA. Four of the top five Tommie scorers are forwards: Liam Malmquist, Lucas Wahlin, Cooper Gay, and Matthew Gleason.
Malmquist’s seven assists lead the CCHA and, with his four goals, help him lead the CCHA in points at 11. Wahlin is a step behind with three goals and four assists, rounded out by Gay’s four goals and one assist and Gleason’s three goals and one assist. 14 of 21 goals and 27 of 54 points have run through these four players.
All four of those forwards and 18 of the 29 total players are juniors, seniors, or grad students, with their two goaltenders Aaron Trotter and Jake Sibell following that trend.
The net situation was confusing last season. As a junior, Sibell was the better goalie, statistically leading in goals allowed average and save percentage while also having one less win in eight fewer appearances. Yet through the entire season, the sophomore, Trotter, was the focus, starting both ends of a weekend series four times (Sibell did not play both ends of any weekend) while also playing all three games in the CCHA playoffs (1-2 series L).
The pattern follows this season, but more sensibly, as Trotter has been the superior player. He’s played two more games, including both in a split series against Augustana and has a better goals allowed average and save percentage with a 2-3 record to Sibell’s 0-2-2.
An unimpressive 1-2-1 (4-point) start is not reflective of how good the team and the goalies are. St. Thomas split with and outscored Augustana in their first CCHA series, followed by a tight home-home series with #16 Minnesota State in which they lost the first 3-5 (empty net at the end, essentially one goal game) and tied the second game 1-1.
This is the toughest streak of the season for the Tommies, Augustana, and Minnesota State, now Bowling Green and Bemidji State. Augustana and Bowling Green have received NCAA ranking votes this past week; Minnesota State is ranked #16, and Bemidji State was projected to finish second in the CCHA in the preseason poll.
This is also a win for four straight weeks. St. Thomas does not have a bye week (not counting over Christmas) until the second week of February. It is a huge point in their season to try and take points through a difficult stretch and emerge from the next two weeks in good standing.
For Bowling Green, it serves as the first true challenge for Williams, a top-three CCHA opponent in a foreign arena, and a statement that the Falcons can compete with anyone in the conference.
The Falcons and Tommies drop the puck in St. Paul on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:07 p.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s voice of Falcon Hockey, Ben Corak, will have the call starting at 6:45 p.m. for both games on WBGU 88.1 FM.
