Gopher right wing Mason Nevers battles St. Thomas defenseman Chase Foley while right wing Casy Laylin searches for an opening. (Evan Neubauer/The Crest) 
Gopher center Ryan Chesley faces pressure from Tommie left wing Caige Sterzer, right wing Lucas Wahlin, and defensemen Chase Foley and Ethan Gauer. Chesley scored in the first period.(Evan Neubauer/The Crest) 
The St. Thomas student section cheers as the Tommies prepare to face off against the Gophers. (Evan Neubauer/The Crest) 
Gopher left wing John Mittelstadt takes a shot on goal. (Evan Neubauer/The Crest) 
St. Thomas defensemen Ethan Gauer and Mason Poolman block gopher right wing Mason Nevers. (Evan Neubauer/The Crest) 
St. Thomas center Cooper Gay and Gopher forward Erik Påhlsson pursue the puck. Gay scored the first goal of the night in the first period. (Evan Neubauer/The Crest).
Purple glow sticks beamed over the Xcel Energy Center’s ice as St. Thomas fell 6-2 to the University of Minnesota on Saturday night.
The Tommies would score four minutes in. Junior forward Cooper Gay opened the duel after tipping sophomore defender Mason Poolman’s shot for a 1-0 lead. Gay has 3 goals in the season, tied first in the team.
“I thought we played hard. I think we came out really well again,” coach Rico Blasi said.
The night kicked off with St. Thomas junior Julia Wheaton performing the national anthem in front of just over 10,000 fans. A palpable excitement filled the “X” as both teams were introduced.
A wave of purple and white celebrated with thundersticks as the Tommies took the first lead of the night.
“It was a good atmosphere, same as last year. Just felt good to get the first (goal) and get the momentum in our direction after Friday,” Gay said.
The Tommies’ joy was short-lived.
Five unanswered goals followed a St. Thomas lead that lasted just over six minutes, three of which came on a power play.
Minnesota junior defender Ryan Chesley tied the game with a shot from the point after an offensive faceoff win. Chesley also opened scoring in Friday’s game, a 7-1 victory over the same Tommies.
The Gophers doubled their lead in the first power play of the game. Junior forward Brody Lamb swerved past St. Thomas junior goaltender Arron Trotter to score his first goal. Lamb finished the night with a natural hat trick.
“We talk about it all the time.You know, making sure goalies don’t see the puck. They’re all so good at this level, so making sure that goalies can’t read a pass, read a shot, makes a huge difference especially on the power play, when you have time to shoot,” Lamb said.
Even after Tommie the tomcat took a lap around in the zamboni after the first period, the St. Thomas student section stayed deflated.
The second period would be a forgettable one for the Tommies.
St. Thomas senior forward Matthew Gleason was disqualified early in the period after striking a Gopher player in the head. Gleason is part of the Tommies starting attack line and an alternate captain. The Tommies also drew a bench minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, leaving three skaters against five.
“It’s a huge hole in the lineup. We had to kill five minutes and then it just disrupts your line, so guys have to play out of position,” coach Blasi said.
In a series of broken sticks, Lamb scored the last two goals of his hat trick in consecutive power plays.
The first one came shortly after Tommie sophomore defender Cole Miller’s stick snapped attempting to clear the puck. Gopher junior defender Luke Mittelstand passed the puck across the rink to Lamb, who rifled the puck into the top bin for a 3-1 score.
Almost two minutes after the goal, Lamb completed the first hat trick of his collegiate career. Gopher junior forward Jimmy Snuggerud shattered his stick attempting a shot, but after a lucky bounce, Lamb gained possession and dribbled around the crease until a slimmer of space opened to launch the puck into the net.
“We needed to get our power play going and we got three of them tonight, that was big,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “We played with some authority tonight with the lead, I liked that.”
St. Thomas racked up seven penalties, a season high.
“The identity of our team is to play hard and play physical. Obviously, we’ve got to keep our hands down and be smart about it, and we didn’t do that tonight,” Blasi said, “We’re going to have to continue to focus on that. We know that, our guys know that. We got caught up in the emotion tonight.”
The Gophers sealed a 5-1 lead with a dazzling effort from senior forward Aaron Huglen, who did a half-spin, leaving a Tommie defender in the way and blasting a shot just over Trotter’s catcher.
Tommie fans started to find their way to the exits as the second period concluded, leaving behind a scattered purple crowd in the student section.
Blasi was pleased with his goalie Aaron Trotter, who saved 29 of 35 shots, even after a couple tough breaks. Late in the game, Trotter shined with a windmill save that prevented further damage.
“I thought Trots handled himself really well and made some big saves,” Blasi said. “I thought we blocked some shots and anytime you gotta kill two 5 minute penalties and a 5-on-3 it’s a pretty difficult task, but he did pretty good.”
St. Thomas’ top point scorer, senior forward Liam Malmquist, added a shorthanded goal in front of roaring leftover fans when he broke through the Minnesota defense untouched, cutting the lead down 5-2. Malmquist’s score was the first shorthanded goal for the Tommies this season.
The Gophers tallied one last goal 7 minutes into the third period, cementing the 6-2 result.
“A better team won tonight … Our emotions got the best of us and took a couple of undisciplined penalties. Can’t do that against a good team,” Blasi said.
The Tommies now fall 0-4 against the Gophers all-time.
“We really wanted to be in top of our game and take non-conference against the state teams serious,” Motzko said. “They take it serious against us and they want to come after us.”
St. Thomas (1-3-1) enters conference play with a matchup against Augustana University Nov. 1 at St. Thomas Ice Arena. The game is scheduled for a 7:07 p.m start.
“Our focus now is CCHA play. We got to make sure we’re disciplined and we’re detailed … We get back to work on Monday,” Blasi said.
Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.