No national tournament eligibility? No problem.

The St. Thomas men’s hockey team punched their ticket to their first Division I conference championship Saturday night, defeating the Bowling Green Falcons 3-1 in Mendota Heights.

St. Thomas will play the winner of Minnesota State Mankato and Bemidji, Saturday’s other semifinal, in the CCHA conference final next Friday with the Mason Cup on the line.

Senior goaltender Jake Sibell saved 30 of the 31 shots he saw, and transfer forward Liam Malmquist scored the game-winning goal with 12 minutes to go in the third period. It was Sibell’s third playoff victory this year, and Malmquist’s 19th goal of the season.

St. Thomas would travel to Mankato for the final should the to-seeded Mavericks pick up the home victory against the Beavers, but if No. 7 Bemidji pulls the upset, St. Thomas would have to find a suitable arena for the game because St. Thomas Ice Arena doesn’t have the CCHA qualifications to host a championship.

The Tommies remain ineligible to compete in the NCAA’s national tournament until next season, even if they win the CCHA tournament next Friday night. The Tommies cannot win the automatic bid because the program is still in a probationary period after moving from Division III to Division I in 2019.

That could change as early as next season after the NCAA voted to shave off the final year of probation granted the Tommies meet certain criteria.

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