The game of hockey comes down to goaltending at any level. In the NHL, NCAA, CHL, high school, or youth leagues, a good goaltender is mandatory for team success and a great one is necessary for championships.
The CCHA 2025 Mason Cup semifinal between Bowling Green (18-13-4, 12-10-4 CCHA) and St. Thomas (18-13-5, 13-9-4 CCHA) may have the best goaltender clash this season. Christian Stoever of BGSU and Jake Sibell of UST may be the hottest two goaltenders in the CCHA, both seniors and formidable in the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Sibell rides an 11-game win streak, not losing since Nov. 29, 2024 against Lake Superior State. While impressive, his hot streak started against Bowling Green on the road, the best game (by far) of his four-year career with 57 saves and one goal allowed.
Including that BG game, Sibell has won seven straight with a shutout and three one goal games. His goal against average is 1.7 per game, recording 32 saves per game and a .947 save percentage. All while leading St. Thomas to three series sweeps, one in the quarterfinal.
Stoever’s stats are eerily similar just in a larger sample size. In 17 games played this season, he has a 1.74 goals against average (2nd CCHA), 28 saves per game (2nd), and a .942 save percentage (2nd) with three shutouts (2nd) and six one-goal games (2nd). He is 5-1 in his last six, the loss coming immediately after his return from a two-week injury.
The greatness of these two netminders recently (and their respective defenses) will put high pressure on the offensive output of both teams. St. Thomas is certainly favorable in this regard, scoring the most goals of any CCHA team this season.
While Sibell has been surprisingly great down the stretch, St. Thomas has been held up by their unstoppable offense this season. They are top three in almost every offensive category, throwing up two Tommies as Forward of the Year finalists.
Senior Liam Malmquist has had a historic season, setting the record for points in a season for the St. Thomas program. A transfer from Wisconsin in 2023-24, his 42 points on 18 goals and 24 assists are the most in his career, top 20 in the NCAA and leads the CCHA. Malmquist is also second in goals, first in assists, fourth in shots and top three in all of the per-game equivalents in conference stats.
His supporting forwards include fellow top three goal scorers Lucas Wahlin and Cooper Gay, Wahlin joining Malmquist as a finalist for Forward of the Year. They combine for a freight train of 110 of 282 points for St. Thomas this season, all with 17+ goals, 29+ points, and a shot percentage above .120.
What can stop a team with the most goals, assists, and points in the CCHA? If any team can, it is probably the defense of Bowling Green.
There isn’t a true way to statistically grasp how good BG’s defense has been in 2024-25’. In their first season under head coach Dennis Williams, Bowling green has the second least goals allowed of any team who played a full conference schedule, doing it with two different goaltenders having split time.
If there was a statistic for puck possession time, Bowling Green may lead the NCAA. Their game is holding onto the puck and shot volume, leading in shot volume by over three per game. It seemed successful at home against St. Thomas in the last series, recording 91 shots on goal to St. Thomas’ 46.
Staggering offense of Rico Blasi’s Tommies and the stifling defense of Williams’ Falcons. An unstoppable force versus an unmovable object in the hopes of a much-needed championship appearance.
