The St. Thomas hockey teams had a thrilling pair of games Friday night. The women took No. 2 Ohio State to the limit before falling in Columbus, Ohio, while the No. 16 men surged past Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Men: St. Thomas 7, Lake Superior State 4

Trailing 4-3 after two periods of play, the Tommies men were staring a bad loss in the face with one stanza left to play.

Fortunately for St. Thomas, they made the most of the final 20 minutes by surging to a 7-4 defeat of the Lakers on their home ice.

The two teams were tied at 1-all after Bauer Berry‘s goal countered the host’s initial strike less than two minutes into the opening period. However, Lake Superior State sandwiched the first intermission with three goals to take a 4-1 edge at 5:05 of the second period.

It was all Tommies from there, however, as the visitors rattled off six consecutive goals over the balance of the middle frame and the third period. Jake Braccini and Charlie Schoen scored two goals apiece, with Lucas Van Vliet and Nathan Pilling each adding a lone tally in the three-goal triumph.

Aaron Trotter replaced Carsen Musser as goaltender after the St. Thomas starter allowed three goals on seven shots. Trotter made 20 saves to help his team in its comeback efforts.

With the win, the Tommies remained atop the CCHA standings with a 12-3-2 conference mark to go with a 15-7-3 overall record. Lake Superior State fell to 9-15-1 overall, 6-11 in CCHA play. St. Thomas ran its winning streak to nine games, with its last loss coming on Dec. 5 against the Lakers. The two teams will wrap their regular-season series at 5:07 p.m. Saturday in a game broadcast on CCHA TV.

Women: Ohio State 2, St. Thomas 1 (OT)

The Tommies women were less than eight minutes away from pulling off one of the biggest wins in program history, but it was not to be.

With goaltender Julia Minotti standing on her head with a 45-save night, Whitney Horton‘s goal at 11:11 of the second period had St. Thomas clinging to a 1-0 lead before Ohio State snagged the game-tying goal at 7:58 of the third to send the game to overtime.

It didn’t last long from there as the hosts escaped with a 2-1 victory on a goal just 38 seconds into the added period.

The loss dropped the Tommies to 10-15 overall and 5-14 in WCHA play. The Buckeyes improved to 22-3 overall and 16-3 in the conference. The two teams take the ice once again at noon Saturday.

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