The University of St. Thomas Tommies (17-8-3, 14-4-2) have made a strong claim to be the best team in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The Tommies were ranked as the 15th best team in the country in the most recent USCHO Rankings and currently sit atop the CCHA standings with 45 points claimed through 20 conference games.
UST also leads the CCHA in multiple statistics as they currently sit atop the conference in goals scored (109), shots on goal (909), team shooting percentage (.120), and shorthanded goals (10).
While also leading the conference, the Tommies also rank among the best teams in the NCAA in the previously mentioned stats, with the Purple and Gray leading the nation in shorthanded goals, ranking third in the nation in goals, and are currently tied for sixth in the nation in shots on goal.
While not ranked among the top 20 in the most recent USCHO poll, BGSU hockey (14-6-6, 11-4-3) did receive nine votes following the Falcons’ claiming two draws in nonconference play against Notre Dame (5-18-3, 1-13-0) last weekend.
Bowling Green currently sits at fifth in the CCHA standings, having claimed 36 points through 18 conference games.
BGSU also leads the CCHA in a handful of statistics, as the Orange and Brown lead the conference in team faceoff winning percentage (.546) and powerplay percentage (.224). Bowling Green ranks fourth in the NCAA in faceoff percentage and 19th in power-play percentage.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, they also lead the conference and are sixth in the NCAA in penalty minutes with 400 taken by the team as a whole. Alternate captain Gustav Stjernberg personally leads the CCHA and NCAA in penalty minutes with 77 taken by the junior defenseman alone.
St. Thomas has multiple dangerous players offensively, with senior forward and team captain Lucas Wahlin, graduate forward Alex Gaffney, and freshman forwards Lucas Van Vliet and Nathan Pilling being the most notable offensively on the Tommies roster.
Wahlin was recently announced to be the CCHA Forward of the Month for the month of January after scoring 13 points, made up of six goals and seven assists during the month. In total, the St. Thomas captain has scored 18 goals and 13 assists for 31 points. Wahlin currently leads the CCHA and is tied for fifth in the NCAA for goals scored and is tied with Van Vliet for third in the CCHA and 20th in the NCAA in points.
Gaffney leads the team in points with 33 while sitting at second in the CCHA and is currently tied for 12th in the NCAA for the category. Gaffney is an ever-present scoring threat as the graduate forward has scored 16 goals throughout the season, including five power-play goals, three shorthanded goals, and two game-winning goals. Gaffney is currently on a four-game point streak, which includes scoring three goals during St. Thomas’ series against Michigan Tech (18-10-2, 13-5-2) last weekend.
Similar to Wahlin, Van Vliet has scored 31 points so far this season and was recently announced as winning a CCHA Player of the Month award as the Livonia, Michigan native claimed the CCHA Rookie of the Month for January after leading the conference’s skaters with 11 assists and 15 points over the course of the month. Recently, Van Vliet was held off the scoresheet during UST’s 4-3 loss to Michigan Tech on Saturday night of the two teams’ series. Before this game, Van Vliet stringed together a point streak of eight straight games. In total, the freshman forward has scored 11 goals and 20 assists on the season.
Pilling, not to be outdone by fellow freshman Van Vliet, has scored 12 goals and 13 assists on the season while taking a team-leading 114 shots on goal. Of his 12 career collegiate goals, only half have been during five-on-five play as the Calgary, Alberta native has netted three power-play and three shorthand goals apiece. Pilling is currently on a 10-game point streak, having last been held off the scoresheet in UST’s 2-0 victory over Northern Michigan (3-25-0, 3-17-0) on Dec. 12.
St. Thomas also has multiple impressive players defensively, as junior defenseman Nick Williams leads the team in blocked shots, having blocked 47 so far this season. Junior defenseman Mason Poolman and freshman defenseman Hayes Hundley follow close behind, having each blocked 35 shots on the campaign.
Bowling Green’s offensive leaders include senior forward Quinn Emerson, junior defenseman Breck McKinley, and junior forwards Ben Doran and Tyler Hotson.
Emerson leads the Falcon roster in points (29), assists (21), and is tied with Hotson, freshman forward Noah Morneau, and senior forward and alternate captain Jaden Grant for the team lead in goals (8). Emerson is the reigning CCHA Forward of the Week after scoring one goal and three assists during Bowling Green’s home-and-home series with Notre Dame.
Doran’s 22 points, made up of six goals and 16 assists, currently place the forward second on the Falcon roster in the category. Doran scored three points during the two teams’ previous series this season, including an overtime winner on Nov. 21 to give the Falcons a 3-2 victory.
Hotson and McKinley are tied for third place on the team in points with 21 apiece. Hotson has scored eight goals and 13 assists, including a team-leading four power-play tallies. McKinley has scored two goals and 19 assists while also leading the Falcons in +/- rating with a +14.
Both teams have had three netminders receive playing time throughout the season, with St. Thomas having senior Aaron Trotter, sophomore Carsen Musser, and freshman Will Ingemann receive ice time, while BGSU has rolled out junior Cole Moore, sophomore Tyler Palmer, and freshman Jacob Steinman throughout the season.
Trotter has been the best statistically this season for the Tommies as the Victoria, British Columbia native has made 284 saves while recording a .916 save percentage and a 2.26 goals against average across the 12 games he’s appeared in so far this season.
For Bowling Green, Moore and Steinman have been the go-to goaltenders since the CCHA winter break. Since that mark, Moore has appeared in six games and has made 144 saves while recording a .924 save percentage over those games. Steinman has appeared in four games since the break and has recorded 87 saves and a .943 save percentage.
BGSU hockey and St. Thomas previously faced off this season in St. Paul, Minnesota, at UST’s Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, where the Falcons claimed a 3-2 overtime victory on Friday before falling 6-2 on Saturday.
This weekend, head coach Dennis Williams and the Falcons will host St. Thomas at the Slater Family Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. on Friday and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call of both games on WBGU 88.1 FM and will be joined by Kevin Hutchinson and Vaughn Ullom over the course of the weekend.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Senior Forward – Lucas Wahlin, St. Thomas
The CCHA’s reigning Forward of the Month, Wahlin, has proven himself to be one of the best goal scorers in college hockey and scored three points against BG in their earlier matchup this season. Across his career, Wahlin has scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 13 games against BGSU.
Graduate Forward – Alex Gaffney, St. Thomas
Gaffney transferred to St. Thomas after spending four seasons with Harvard of the ECAC. During his lone season with the Purple and Gray, Gaffney has proven to be a dangerous scoring threat anytime he’s on the ice and leads the Tommies in points.
Senior Forward – Quinn Emerson, Bowling Green
The reigning CCHA Forward of the Week, Emerson, scored four points last weekend against Notre Dame. Emerson produced three points against UST in November and has been a consistent point contributor all season for the Falcons.
Junior Forward – Ben Doran, Bowling Green
Doran scored three points against St. Thomas during the two teams’ previous series, including an overtime winner on Friday night. The Falcons may need to call upon Doran’s late-game heroics again to claim as many points as possible towards the CCHA standings.
