COLLEGE HOCKEY INSIDER RANDY JOHNSON
The sound of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's "Waitin' on a Sunny Day'' resounded through the loudspeakers Saturday night at the St. Thomas Ice Arena after the men's hockey teams from St. Thomas and Minnesota State Mankato finished their CCHA series.
The song hit an appropriate note for the home team. While St. Thomas lost 5-2 to the Mavericks, there already have been some sunny days and the promise of many more in the future for the Tommies, who are in their second season in Division I hockey after making the transition from Division III.
Friday provided St. Thomas a bright ray of sunshine in Mankato, where the Tommies defeated last year's NCAA runner-up 3-2 on Mack Byers' goal 57 seconds into overtime. Saturday's result was a series split and left St. Thomas with an 8-18-2 overall record and a 7-11-2 mark in CCHA play. Over their past three conference series, the Tommies are 3-2-1 with wins over the first-place Mavericks and second-place Michigan Tech, and a win and tie against third-place Bowling Green.
"Tonight was a really good learning experience for our team,'' Tommies coach Rico Blasi said. "We were able to be in a game where the mind-set has to change. We're not just playing games anymore. Our guys understood that at this time of the year now, things are a little bit different.''
Blasi aims to have his team playing well heading into the CCHA playoffs, which will conclude St. Thomas' season because it is not yet eligible for the NCAA tournament during the probationary five-year period from the move to Division I. The Tommies already have made huge strides from their D-I debut last season, when they went 3-32-1 and finished last in the conference.
Signs of improvement showed up early this season. In a Oct. 21 game at Penn State, a team that's No. 5 in the PairWise Ratings, St. Thomas had a shot ring off the crossbar in overtime only to fall 3-2 on a late Nittany Lions breakaway. The Tommies swept a home series against Lake Superior State in November and lost a tight, 2-1 game at Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 31.
"I take it as a huge positive this weekend,'' Blasi said. "We battled back last night. We were in a hostile environment.''