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This is for the men's team representing the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. For the team representing St. Thomas University located in Fredericton, New Brunswick please see St. Thomas Tommies.

St. Thomas Tommies
St. Thomas Tommies (NCAA) logo
Institution: University of St. Thomas
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
School founded: 1885
Enrollment: 6,199
Colors: Purple, Gray, and White
Home Arena: St. Thomas Ice Arena
Capacity: 1,000
Dimensions: 200' x 85'
Men's Team
Conference: Central Collegiate Hockey Association
Coach: Rico Blasi
Conf. Championships: 1923c, 1934, 1938c, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947, 1949, 1951c, 1952, 1953c, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2020
Major Rivals: St. John's Johnnies
Media: WCCO (AM)

The St. Thomas Tommies represent the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but will leave that league after the 2021–22 season to join the revived Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

On May 22, 2019 the board that runs the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is made up of the school presidents, announced that St. Thomas University was being removed from the conference involuntarily effective the spring of 2021. The release cites competitive parity as the main reason for the move. The university has been dominant in league competition accounting for about half of all MIAC championships (team and individual) since 2013. No announcement was made about the university's plans for joining a new conference.[1] On July 29, 2020 the team was announced as joining the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for the 2021-22 season.[2]

Jump to Division I[]

The university worked to receive a waiver from the NCAA that would allow it to move directly from Division III to Division I. At the time, NCAA rules would have required such a school to go through a 12-year reclassification process, but the organization was preparing to vote on a proposal to shorten the time frame for a D-III to D-I reclassification to five years.

The Summit League, a Division I all-sports conference that does not sponsor hockey or football, actively worked with the university to receive said waiver. When St. Thomas' expulsion from the MIAC was announced, the Summit League had nine members; in July 2020, it would both lose and gain one member. In recent years, the geographic center of the conference has moved toward the Interstate 29 corridor, running along the eastern border of the Dakotas south toward Kansas City. Illustrating this point, the conference added the University of North Dakota in 2018, lost its easternmost member in Purdue University Fort Wayne in July 2020, and welcomed back the University of Missouri–Kansas City, a former Summit member now branded for sports purposes as "Kansas City", in July 2020. The Tommies' Twin Cities location made them a good geographic fit for the Summit, and also gave the conference a presence in the largest metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest.

Because of St. Thomas' unique set of circumstances—being involuntarily removed from its former conference due to its athletic strength relative to D-III as a whole, having a healthy overall endowment of over $500 million, having an all-sports D-I conference willing to accept it, and also being in a state that previously had only one all-sports D-I program—the NCAA granted said waiver in July 2020.[3] At the time the NCAA waiver was announced, St. Thomas announced that its women's hockey team would join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while the football team would join the Pioneer Football League, a conference that plays in the second level of D-I football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), but consists entirely of schools that do not offer football scholarships. Shortly afterwards, the men's hockey team would be announced as a member of the revived CCHA.

On May 14, 2024 the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced that St. Thomas had been accepted into the conference beginning with the 2026-27 season.[4]

Men's Program[]

The men's program dates back to 1923. As of 2016 the team has won or shared 31 regular season MIAC titles, won 12 conference tournaments and made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances

Conferences[]

Arenas[]

Prior to the opening of the St. Thomas Ice Arena unconfirmed venues for 1920 to 2003 but possible venues if the team played indoors would have be St. Paul Hippodrome which was open from 1906 until the early 1940's and the St. Paul Auditorium which opened in 1932 and closed in 1985. The Warner Coliseum (1951-1971) and Oscar Johnson Arena (1971-2018) are also other possibilities.

Head Coaches[]

Year by Year Record[]

Season GP W L T GF GA Pts Finish Conference Tournament GP W L T GF GA
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Overall Record
1920-21 7 6 1 0
1921-22 8 4 4 0
1922-23 9 5 4 0
1923-24 10 8 2 0
1924-25 2 1 0 1
1925-26 11 10 1 0
1926-27 14 5 9 0
1927-28 12 4 5 3
1928-29 11 6 5 0
1929-30 17 9 8 0
1930-31 11 3 4 4
1931-32 7 4 3 0
1932-33 10 7 3 0
1933-34 4 4 0 0 1st 7 4 2 1
1934-35 6 2 4 0
1935-36 11 3 5 3
1936-37 14 9 5 0
1937-38 9 7 1 1 1st 12 9 2 1
1938-39 10 4 5 1
1939-40 8 4 3 1 1st 8 5 1 2
1940-41 6 5 1 0 1st 9 6 2 1
1941-42 7 7 0 0
1942-43 play suspended due to World War II
1943-44 play suspended due to World War II
1944-45 play suspended due to World War II
1945-46 play suspended due to World War II
1946-47 9 9 0 0 1st 18 14 4 0
1947-48 11 6 5 0
1948-49 8 6 1 1 1st 16 11 4 1
1949-50 13 9 4 0
1950-51 7 6 1 0 1st 16 12 3 1
1951-52 6 5 1 0 1st 10 7 3 0
1952-53 10 9 1 0 1st 15 12 3 0
1953-54 19 8 2 9
1954-55 10 9 1 0 1st 17 14 3 0
1955-56 14 6 8 0
1956-57 12 9 3 0
1957-58 17 13 4 0
1958-59 14 10 4 0
1959-60 10 7 3 0
1960-61 10 6 4 0
1961-62 13 6 7 0
1962-63 16 14 4 1
1963-64 11 4 6 1
1964-65 10 7 3 0 59 37 14 3rd No Tournament 12 8 4 0
1965-66 No Tournament 16 8 8 0
1966-67 14 7 7 0 14 5th No Tournament 17 10 6 1
1967-68 12 4 8 0 8 5th No Tournament 18 7 11 0
1968-69 14 3 11 0 6 7th No Tournament 18 8 9 1
1969-70 No Tournament 18 8 9 1
1970-71 14 3 11 0 47 66 6 T-6th No Tournament 20 7 12 1
1971-72 14 10 4 0 98 48 20 3rd No Tournament 22 12 10 0
1972-73 14 7 7 0 14 T-4th No Tournament 22 9 12 1
1973-74 14 13 1 0 26 1st No Tournament 21 18 3 0
1974-75 16 12 4 0 24 3rd No Tournament 27 19 8 0
1975-76 No Tournament 24 14 9 1
1976-77 No Tournament 24 8 16 0
1977-78 14 7 7 0 14 4th No Tournament 27 14 12 1
1978-79 13 7 6 0 14 4th No Tournament 26 10 16 0
1979-80 16 10 5 1 21 3rd No Tournament 28 14 13 1
1980-81 16 9 7 0 18 4th No Tournament 30 15 15 0
1981-82 16 4 12 0 8 7th No Tournament 27 8 19 0
1982-83 16 14 2 0 28 1st No Tournament 28 19 9 0
1983-84 16 13 3 0 101 61 26 2nd No Tournament 31 19 10 2
1984-85 16 12 2 0 100 51 28 1st No Tournament 32 25 7 0 197 107
1985-86 16 15 1 0 114 50 30 1st W, SF 11 goals to 9 (Gustavus Adolphus) W, F 19 goals to 6 (Bethel) 32 25 6 1
1986-87 16 10 6 0 75 57 20 3rd W, SF 11 goals to 10 (St. Mary's) L, F 7-6 (Concordia) 29 16 13 0 134 117
1987-88 16 13 3 0 93 40 26 2nd W, SF 12 goals to 7 (Gustavus Adolphus) W, F 11 goals to 7 (St. Mary's) 31 21 10 0 150 97
1988-89 16 13 3 0 73 37 26 1st W, SF 9 goals to 2 (Augsburg) L, F 10 goals to 5 (St. Mary's) 30 18 11 1 138 104
1989-90 16 14 2 0 114 40 28 1st W, SF 5-4 (ot) (St. Mary's) L, F 3-1 (Gustavus Adolphus) 28 19 8 1 158 92
1990-91 16 13 1 2 91 3 28 1st W, SF 2-1 (St. Olaf) L, F 7-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) 29 15 8 3 138 85
1991-92 18 12 3 1 80 45 25 1st W, SF 6-3 (St. Olaf) W, F 6-4 (Gustavus Adolphus) 32 20 10 2 137 102
1992-93 16 13 2 1 95 49 27 T-1st W, SF 10-2 (Augsburg) L, F 4-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) 27 21 5 1 165 88
1993-94 16 11 2 3 89 45 25 1st W, SF 5-2 (Augsburg) W, F 8-3 (St. John's) 29 19 5 5 153 86
1994-95 16 12 3 1 113 62 25 1st W, SF 2 games to none (Gustavus Adolphus) L, F 2 games to none (St. Mary's) 29 18 10 1 169 112
1995-96 16 11 3 2 109 49 24 3rd W, SF 2 games to none (Gustavus Adolphus) L, F 2 games to 1 (St. John's) 29 18 9 2 172 106
1996-97 16 13 3 0 102 47 26 2nd L, SF 2 games to none (Gustavus Adolphus) 27 18 9 0 152 93
1997-98 16 12 3 1 94 41 25 T-1st W, SF 3 points to 1 (Gustavus Adolphus) L, F 2 games to none (Augsburg) 29 20 7 2
1998-99 16 11 4 1 75 44 23 1st W, SF 2 games to none (Augsburg) W, F 3 points to 1 (Concordia) 31 16 12 3 123 107
1999-00 16 14 1 1 101 45 29 1st W, SF 2 games to none (St. John's) L, F 2 games to 1 (Concordia) 33 27 4 2 182 89
2000-01 16 11 3 2 80 46 24 1st L, SF 2 games to 1 (Bethel) 27 15 9 3 122 87
2001-02 16 13 3 0 63 39 26 1st W, SF 5-1 (Concordia) W, F 3-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) 28 22 6 0 115 77
2002-03 16 10 5 1 58 31 21 2nd W, SF 7-6 (ot) (Augsburg) L, F 4-3 (ot) (St. John's) 27 16 9 2 97 59
2003-04 16 13 2 1 72 36 27 2nd W, SF 6-3 (Gustavus Adolphus) W, F 4-3 (ot) (St. John's) 28 17 8 3 106 79
2004-05 16 12 3 1 77 40 25 2nd W, SF 4-3 (ot) (Bethel) W, F 2-1 (St. John's) 31 20 6 5 130 84
2005-06 16 13 2 1 69 34 27 1st W, SF 5-4 (ot) (Bethel) L, F 5-1 (St. Olaf) 27 17 9 1 100 73
2006-07 16 12 4 0 76 46 24 2nd W, SF 3-1 (Augsburg) L, F 5-3 (Bethel) 27 17 10 0 107 82
2007-08 16 11 4 1 72 37 23 T-2nd W, 3-1 (Bethel) W, 4-1 (Hamline) 29 20 7 2 120 61
2008-09 16 9 5 2 66 49 20 T-2nd L, SF 3-1 (Gustavus Adolphus) 26 12 11 3 92 82
2009-10 16 8 6 2 51 58 18 3rd W, SF 5-4 (ot) (Hamline) W, F 2-1 (ot) (Gustavus Adolphus) 28 13 11 4 82 100
2010-11 16 9 5 2 50 34 20 2nd L, SF 4-2 (Concordia) 26 14 10 2 84 66
2011-12 16 13 2 1 55 35 27 1st L, SF 4-3 (St. Olaf) 26 18 6 2 86 60
2012-13 16 10 5 1 47 25 21 T-1st L, SF 1-0 (Gustavus Adolphus) 26 13 11 2 66 47
2013-14 16 13 1 2 55 19 42 1st W, SF 2-1 (St. Olaf) W, F 2-1 (Gustavus Adolphus) 28 21 5 2 82 41
2014-15 16 10 3 3 34 53 29 1st L, SF 6-3 (Hamline) 26 16 6 4 77 45
2015-16 16 10 3 3 55 36 34 2nd L, SF 2-1 (ot) (St. John's) 26 13 8 5 76 40
2016-17 16 11 3 2 65 40 36 1st W, SF 2-1 (Concordia) L, F 3-2 (Augsburg) 27 14 8 5 86 66
2017-18 16 11 4 1 52 40 34 1st L, SF 4-3 (Gustavus Adolphus) 26 16 9 1 81 62
2018-19 16 8 3 5 51 38 31 3rd L, SF 4-1 (St. John's) 26 14 7 5 85 66
2019-20 16 9 6 1 56 45 28 4th W, QF 3-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) W, SF 4-1 (St. John's) W, F 3-2 (Concordia) 28 15 10 3 95 80
2020-21 3 2 0 1 11 5 .833 N/A Cancelled 9 6 1 2 34 20

Note: starting with the 2013-14 season the NCAA allowed the use of shootouts to settle tied games. The MIAC adopted this practice. Starting with the 2018-19 season the MIAC went to 5 minute 5-on-5 overtime followed by a five minute 3-on-3 overtime followed by a shootout. The NCAA declares any game settled after more than five minutes of overtime or by shootout a tied game for record keeping purposes and are indicated as such above.

NAIA/NCAA Tournament Appearances[]

Season First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Third Place
NAIA
1972 N/A N/A L, 5-3 (Gustavus Adolphus) -- L, 8-3 (WI-Superior)
1974 N/A Bye L, 9-2 (Lake Superior St) -- L, 6-5 (Gustavus Adolphus)
1975 N/A W, 8-4 (Lakehead) L, 8-3 (Gustavus Adolphus) -- W, 8-4 (Augsburg)
1978 N/A W, 6-5 (ot) (Gustavus Adolphus) L, 7-1 (Bemidji St) -- W, 7-6 (WI-River Falls)
1980 N/A L, 13-8 (WI-Superior) -- -- --
1981 N/A L, 7-6 (WI-Superior) W, 6-4 (St. Mary's) (consolation) -- W, 12-3 (St. Olaf) (5th place game)
NCAA Division III
1984 N/A L, 13 goals to 12 (Augsburg) -- -- --
1985 N/A L, 10 goals to 6 (RIT) -- -- --
1986 N/A L, 2 games to 1 (Mankato St) -- -- --
1988 N/A L, 2 games to none (Bemidji St) -- -- N/A
1990 N/A L, 2 games to none (WI-Stevens Point) -- -- N/A
1992 N/A L, 2 games to 1 (WI-Stevens Point) -- -- --
1994 N/A L, 2 games to none (WI-Superior) -- -- --
1999 N/A L, 2 games to none (WI-Superior) -- -- --
2000 N/A W, 2 games to none (Wentworth) W, 7-1 (Plattsburgh St) L, 2-1 (Norwich) --
2002 L, 2-1 (WI-Superior) -- -- -- N/A
2004 L, 3-2 (ot) (WI-River Falls) -- -- -- N/A
2005 W, 4-1 (St John's (MN)) W, 3-2 (St. Norbert) W, 4-1 (Trinity) L, 5-0 (Middlebury) N/A
2008 W, 4-1 (WI-Stout) L, 2-1 (ot) (St. Norbert) -- -- N/A
2010 L, 3-1 (Gustavus Adolphus) -- -- -- N/A
2012 L, 3-1 (St. Norbert) -- -- -- N/A
2014 Bye L, 3-0 (WI-Stevens Point) -- -- N/A

Links[]

References[]

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