The men's hockey team bested Concordia twice this weekend to close the regular season with an 8-game winning streak. The wins improve the Saints record to 22-12 on the season and 12-8 in WHAC play. That mark sees the Saints finish in third place in the WHAC regular season standings and gives them the #3 seed in the upcoming WHAC Tournament. 

On Friday night the Saints downed the Cardinals 6-2 on Senior Night. It was the last game on the home ice for Saints seniors Connor Matulaitas, Connor Barta, Steven Nisbet and Max Berry. The Saints sent their seniors out with a bang, claiming a 6-2 victory over the visiting Cardinals. Nick Stockert had the lone goal in the first period, off of helpers from Mike Curran and Ryan Wolfe. Russell Shengulette doubled the lead in the second off of a Barta assist. 

The Cardinals and Saints traded the next four goals back and forth, with the Cardinals cutting the lead to 2-1 and 3-2 at separate points before Mike Curran helped the Saints regain the two-goal advantage. Nick Long had a power-play goal sandwiched between the Cardinal goals. Kyle Truax had assists on both goals. Long had his second of the game in third to make it 5-2 and Darren Johnson finished the scoring with a goal with just :35 seconds left. Nisbet and Berry had assists on the play, giving three of the Saints' seniors points in their final game at Southside. Nick Ottenbacher earned the win in net with 19 saves on 21 shots faced.

The next night, the Saints came out firing, scoring three times in the first period to take a 3-1 lead. Trent Kulczyk, Ryan Wolfe and Nick Stockert all found the back of the net for the Saints in the first 20 minutes of action. The Cardinals cut the lead to 3-2 early in the second, but after that it was all Saints. They would score the next eight goals of the game to claim an 11-2 victory. Four goals in both the second and third periods helped the Saints blow away the Cardinals and claim a big season ending win. 

Ryan Wolfe finished the contest with a hat-trick and and assist to lead the Saints offensively. Trent Kulczyk had two goals and two assists. Kyle Truax had a goal and three helpers, while defenseman Max Berry had three assists of his own. Mike Curran also had multiple assists on the day. Darren Johnson, Brandon Rozema and Brandon Schwandt each had a goal and an assist on the night. Nick Long had a goal while Alex Klekotka, Connor Fuchs both added an assist. Roman Malkov made 17 saves in net to earn the win.

Aquinas will now look to the WHAC Tournament to help them qualify for the ACHA D1 National Tournament. The Saints open up play in the WHAC Tournament with these same Cardinals. With a win they would advance to take on #2 Indiana Tech.  The tournament opens play on February 28th and is hosted by Lawrence Tech.

WHAC Tournament Schedule:
Feb. 28
#1 UM-Dearborn (17-3-0, 25-7-1), bye
#5 Rochester (5-15-0, 14-18-0) vs. #4 Lawrence Tech (9-11-0, 13-11-0), 5:30 p.m.
#6 Concordia (1-19-0, 5-25-0) vs. #3 Aquinas (12-8-0, 22-12-0), 8 p.m.
#2 Indiana Tech (16-4-0, 25-8-0), bye

Semifinals - Feb. 29
#1 UM-Dearborn vs. Winner #5/#4, 5:30 p.m.
#2 Indiana Tech vs. Winner #6/#3, 8 p.m.

Championship - March 1
3:30 p.m.