St. Thomas Men’s Hockey is celebrating after a program-best season ended with its first trip to the Mason Cup final. The Tommies finished the 2024-25 season as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 15 of their final 20 games.
Before advancing to the championship game, the Tommies swept the Ferris State Bulldogs in the Mason Cup quarterfinals and notched a historic win against the Bowling Green Falcons in the semifinal. The playoff victories would extend the team’s final winning streak to eight games.
Battling for the CCHA Tournament Championship for the very first time on March 21, the Tommies took on the No. 15 Minnesota State Mavericks in front of a nearly sold-out crowd in Mankato, Minnesota, at the Mayo Clinic Health Systems Event Center. Despite securing an early lead, St. Thomas would fall to the Mavericks, 4-2.
Since transitioning to Division I hockey, St. Thomas has improved year over year, and the 2024-25 season was no different with program records set in nearly every statistical category, including wins (19), conference points and power play goals.
Helping set those records were forwards Liam Malmquist and Lucas Wahlin, who both scored more than 40 points this season. Goaltender Jake Sibell also won a program-record 12 games in goal.
“It’s been an unbelievable feeling making this run,” Wahlin said. “This group of guys, we’ve been a completely different team since second half (of the season) and it’s been so much fun playing with them.”
Head coach Rico Blasi has been named a finalist for Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year. Blasi won the CCHA Coach of the Year award five times while coaching at Miami University, but this is his first time nominated as a finalist at St. Thomas.
“This has been a process for our program for the last four years, and our culture has grown and matured as we’ve evolved,” Blasi said. “I’m proud of this team that we have in the locker room and I’m proud of the guys that we started with four years ago.”
New leader arrives for St. Thomas Women’s Hockey
For the St. Thomas women’s hockey team, it was also a season of growth. Bethany Brausen was named head coach of the program in January. She helped lead the Tommies to their first sweep of a top-5 opponent, upending the No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
“We knew that these big wins were coming,” Brausen said. “We have been fighting and competing with these teams for a while now, and with taking a big series like that, moving forward our team knows anything is possible.”
The Tommies traveled to Ohio State for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The No. 2 Buckeyes took the first two games in the best of three series.
Moving into a new home
Both the men and women’s hockey programs have a lot to look forward to, including their upcoming move into a brand-new home. The Lee & Penny Anderson Arena is set to open on the university’s St. Paul campus in the fall of 2025. The state-of-the-art facility will feature two sheets of ice, advanced practice facilities, locker rooms and nutrition areas.
