It took more than 60 years, but hockey finally returned to the University of St. Thomas campus in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, when the fourth-year Division I program played its first games in brand-new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
Both the men and women faced Providence in a debut doubleheader, and both games went to overtime. The No. 13 St. Thomas women took a 7-6 loss, while the men finished in a 2-2 with the No. 15 Friars, and the Tommies winning the shootout 2-0.
Freshman Nathan Pilling converted on a shorthanded breakaway at the 17:33 mark to score the first men's goal in the facility. Freshman Aleksi Kivioja also scored a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0 in the second period. However, Providence was able to rally with third-period goals by John Mustard and Aleksi Kivioja.
Providence (1-21) had a 40-26 advantage in shots on goal, and a 41-24 edge in faceoffs won, as as St. Thomas (2-3-1) never trailed behind senior goaltender Aaron Trotter.
On the women's side, senior Reichen Kirchmair scored four goals to lead the Friars, including the game-winner. St. Thomas had third-period goals by Rylee Bartz, Whitney Horton, Ella Boerger, and Ilsa Lindaman to rally and give the Tommies a 6-5 lead with 1:17 remaining. However, after Providence (2-5) pulled its goalie sophomore Jessie Pellerin scored on a deflection with 31 seconds to go to send the game into overtime.
Providence junior Audrey Knapp scored 23 seconds in to the game to have the first official goal in the new building. She and Kirchmair both finished with four points. Linaman had two goals for St. Thomas (6-2).
The St. Thomas men's program has been around since 1920, but played in a variety of arenas around the Twin Cities, and most recently at St. Thomas Academy, a high school facility in nearby Mendota Heights. With the move to Division I in 2020, St. Thomas finally built its own arena, which seats 5,300 for basketball and 4,000 for hockey, at a cost of $183 million.
FIRE US UP NATHAN PILLING #RollToms | #FidesInFratrem pic.twitter.com/odlYPEBgYB
Reigning national champion Western Michigan bounced back in its showdown with Michigan, earning a home-and-home series split with a 5-2 victory at Lawson Arena. Grant Slukynsky scored twice while while Liam Valente, Zack Sharp and Bobby Cowan all had a goal and Ty Hendricks tallied three asissts. Hampton Slukynsky made 28 saves to earn the win wile Michigan took its first loss of the season (7-1).
Ava Lindsay scored two goals and Hannah Clark earned her second history of the season as No. 3 Minnesota blanked No. 4 UMD on its home ice, 4-0. Madison Kaiser and Jamie Nelson also scored for the Gophers as head coach Brad Frost moved to fourth in all-time wins in NCAA women's hockey (536, passing Mike Carroll).
SEE ALSO: No. 9 BC Men's Hockey Routed by No. 7 Denver, 7-3, Remain Winless at Home
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times ET.
MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Army 5, Holy Cross 2
Bentley 4, Canisius 1
RIT 5, Air Force 1
CCHA
Bowling Green 4, Lake Superior State 1
Michigan Tech, 5, Ferris State 1
Bemidji State 1, Augustana 0 (OT)
Hockey East
No. 11 Connecticut 8, No. 4 Boston University 4
Non-Conference
Sacred Heart 2, No. 14 Ohio State 1
Clarkson 5, No. 8 North Dakota 2
Colgate 3, No. 10 Maine 2
Mass.-Lowell 4, Mercyhurst 0
Merrimack 4, No. 6 Quinnipiac 1
No. 5 Penn State 3, Stonehill 2
No. 7 Denver 7, No. 9 Boston College 3
No. 1 Michigan State 4, Northern Michigan 0
No. 15 Providence 2, St. Thomas 2 (OT/SO)
Miami 5, Lindenwood 4 (OT)
No. 20 Minnesota State 4, RPI 2
No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 12 Minnesota 0
No. 13 Massachusetts 5, Omaha, 4
New Hampshire 3, Long Island 2 (OT)
Notre Dame 6, Robert Morris 3
St. Cloud State, 5, Alaska-Anchorage 2
No. 2 Western Michigan 5, No. 3 Michigan 2
No. 17 Wisconsin 5, Alaska 3
Exhibition
Niagara 4, US Under-18 1
WOMEN
No. 2 Ohio State 5, No. 11 St. Cloud State 1
No. 3 Minnesota 4, No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth 0
No. 3 Cornell 5, Harvard 2
No. 6 Penn State 6, Lindenwood 1
No. 7 Quinnipiac 3. Yale 1
Dartmouth 4, No. 9 Colgate 2
No. 10 Clarkson 5, Union 2
No. 8 UConn 1, Mercyhurst 1
No. 15 Boston University 4 New Hampshire 4, N
St. Lawrence 3, RPI 2
Providence 7, St. Thomas 6 (OT)
Syracuse 5, RIT 2
Sacred Heart 6, Saint Michael’s 1
Robert Morris 5., Delaware 0
Princeton 4, Brown 2
Vermont 3, Franklin Pierce 0
Holy Cross 2, Post 0
Stonehill 4, Saint Anselm 3 (OT)
Trudeau magic gives the Pios the win over the nationally-ranked Buckeyes‼️
📺: @BigTenPlus https://t.co/uzGH5FMO06 pic.twitter.com/bstHykjowr
MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Holy Cross at Army, 4 p.m.
Air Force at RIT, 5 p.m.
Canisius at Bentley, 6 p.m.
CCHA
Bowling Green at Lake Superior, 6 p.m.
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 6 p.m.
Augustana at Bemidji State, 7 p.m.
Hockey East
No. 4 Boston University at No. 11 Connecticut, 5 p.m.
Non-Conference
Mass.-Lowell at Mercyhurst, 4 p.m.
Sacred Heart at No. 14 Ohio State, 5 p.m.
Robert Morris at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Stonehill at No. 5 Penn State, 6 p.m.
No. 1 Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 6 p.m.
Alaska-Anchorage at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m.
Alaska at No. 17 Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
RPI at No. 20 Minnesota State, 7 p.m.
No. 8 North Dakota at Clarkson, 7 p.m.
Colgate at No. 10 Maine, 7 p.m.
Long Island at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Quinnipiac at New Hampshire 7 p.m.
No. 7 Denver at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 12 Minnesota, 8 p.m.
No. 13 Massachusetts at Omaha, 8 p.m.
No. 15 Providence at St. Thomas, 8 p.m.
Miami at Lindenwood, 8 p.m.
Exhibition
US Under-18 at Cornell, 7 p.m.
Simon Fraser at Princeton, 7 p.m.
Toronto at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m.
WOMEN
Saint Michael’s at Sacred Heart, noon
Boston College at Merrimack, 1 p.m.
Lindenwood at Penn State, 1 p.m.
UConn at Mercyhurst, 1 p.m.
Robert Morris at Delaware, 2 p.m.
Providence at St. Thomas, 2 p.m.
Minnesota State at No. 1Wisconsin, 3 p.m.
No. 11 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Ohio State, 3 p.m.
Minnesota at Minnesota -Duluth, 4 p.m.
No. 3 Cornell at Dartmouth, 3 p.m.
Quinnipiac at Brown, 3 p.m.
Colgate at Harvard, 3 p.m.
Clarkson at RPI, 3 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Union, 3 p.m.
Franklin Pierce at Vermont, 3 p.m.
RIT at Syracuse, 3 p.m.
Princeton at Yale, 3 p.m.
Now that was fun#GoMack x #MissionMerrimack pic.twitter.com/yxLLXmMvza
• Take note of this item about camaraderie that Penn State freshman Gavin McKenna included in his first draft diary for NHL.com: "Now at Penn State when I’m away from the rink, I just like hanging out with the guys. In the Western Hockey League the houses are spread out across the city, but here everyone lives so close, so whenever I get a chance I want to be with the guys and hang out with them. Whether it's at the rink, in the dorms or the hockey house, we have a lot of fun. We have a really tight group of guys so just spending time with them, whether it's making steaks for dinner or whatever, it's a lot of fun."
• Speaking of the NHL, it announced that the New York Islanders will host the 2027 All-Star Game at UBS Arena, on Long Island, N.Y., instead of the 2026 game, which won't be held due to the Olympics. The weekend events will be Feb. 5-7 and broadcast by ESPN and ABC.
• Remember Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo's super-critical comments about G-League players being eliible to play at the collegiate level? The NCAA issued a statement: “More schools are recruiting and enrolling individuals who have competed professionally — including many with experience in international and domestic leagues who may find college sports more appealing given the financial benefits now available. NCAA rules do allow players who competed professionally prior to collegiate enrollment to retain eligibility for college sports, though in some cases, players may lose seasons of eligibility due to delayed enrollment. Each player’s situation is unique and these issues arise at a time when NCAA eligibility rules are facing repeated lawsuits with judges enjoining some of these rules. In making its eligibility decisions, the NCAA endeavors to treat prospective student-athletes, whether domestic or international, as consistently as possible given the broad range of backgrounds that can be presented. These cases are likely to continue, and this uncertainty underscores the importance of collaboration with Congress to resolve conflicting judicial decisions that serve to deprive high school athletes of the ability to compete and create unfair environments for current college athletes.”
October 25, 1927: Hall of Fame announcer Al Shaver was born in London, Ontario.
October 25, 1935: Denver right wing John MacMillan was born in Lethbridge, Alberta.
October 25, 1969: Former Michigan Tech goaltender Tony Esposito faced his first team the Montreal Canadiens for the first time since being claimed on waivers. He made 30 saves to notch the first of 15 shutouts that season.
October 25, 1972: Bowling Green left wing Keith Redmond was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
October 25, 1975: The US Hockey Hall of Fame enshrined Stewart Iglehart, Anthony Conroy, Francis Harding Jr., Joseph Linder and Frederick Moseley Jr.
October 25, 1978: The Minnesota North Stars introduced the hockey world to on-ice advertising during a 2-2 tie with the Boston Bruins. Because Met Center kept all revenue from all arena advertising, new general manager Lou Nanne worked with 3M to create ads on the boards, ice and even the Zamboni.
October 25, 1990: Former Wisconsin left wing Brian Mullen had four assists to lead the New York Rangers to a come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Flyers.
October 25, 1990: Former UMD right wing Brett Hull became the first player in St. Louis Blues’ history to score a hat trick in consecutive games, and he did it against the same team. The first game had been at Toronto, and the second at St. Louis, an 8-5 victory in which former RPI center Adam Oates was credited with four assists.
October 25, 1991: The New York Islanders made a pair on monster trades. They sent future Hall of Fame center Pat Lafontaine, Randy Hillier, former Yale left wing Randy Wood and a fourth-round draft pick, across state to Buffalo for future Hall of Fame center Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Benoit Hogue and Dave McElwain. Additionally, Brent Sutter and Brad Lauer went to the Chicago Blackhawks for Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas.
October 25, 1998: Former North Dakota defenseman Brad Berry announced his retirement after nine seasons in the NHL. He got into coaching and led his alma mater from 2015-25.
October 25, 2018: John Ziegler Jr., the fourth NHL president who attended Michigan undergraduate and law school, died in Sewall’s Point, Fla. He was 84.
October 25, 2022: Former Minnesota right wing Phil Kessel set the NHL ironman record with his 990th consecutive game and scored his 400th goal as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks, 4-2.
I broke a few bones along the way but wouldn’t change anything in the journey to get here. @Honda #PowerofDreams #HondaPartner pic.twitter.com/TnUXLT5DEa
"Joe's been getting that since he was nine years old. Other teams always said, 'Stop Nieuwendyk and we can win.' "
We want to point out how the fall leaves are already past peak at UNH, but are in full swing at Notre Dame (both teams won Friday). We're still looking for Arizona State's photo for some reason …
Boys are back in town!
Game Day Central ➡️ https://t.co/SIeqsSfzB6
Tickets ➡️ https://t.co/WscEc9hBzA #BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/COiuGdGmcO
The leaves were a paid actor#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/QubUef7cSM
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Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
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