The St. Thomas men’s hockey team moved into a tie for first place in the CCHA with a 4-2 win at Minnesota State Saturday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Tommies explored for four goals in the middle frame. Lucas Wahlin got the visitors on the board just 20 seconds into the second for a 1-0 lead. Attila Lippai and Quinton Pepper scored just 17 seconds apart at 6:35 and 6:52 before Ryan O’Neill pumped home one more goal at 7:33. In less than one minute, St. Thomas turned a close game into a rout. O’Neil, Alex Gaffney, Bauer Berry, Lucas Van Vliet, Nick Williams, Caige Sterzer and Mason Poolman all earned assists amidst the four-goal outburst.

The Mavericks got on the board with a pair of goals the third period, but it wasn’t enough to do anything more than ruin UST goaltender Aaron Trotter’s bid for a shutout. Trotter made 18 saves on the night.

With the victory, the Tommies (12-7-3 overall, 9-3-2 CCHA) earned their 30th point in conference play to move into a tie with Augustana atop the circuit standings. Minnesota State (12-6-5, 8-4-4), which entered the night in second place in the CCHA, one point ahead of St. Thomas, dropped into third place with 28 points.

The Tommies host Bemidji State (9-10-3, 7-4-3) in a two-game series at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul next Friday and Saturday. Puck drop for both games is at 7 p.m. Both games will be televised on CCHATV.

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