The Saint Louis University hockey team didn’t qualify for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Nationals. The Billikens finished 16th, four places out of the top 12 teams that get go to the nationals.
But coach John Bosch and his squad did the next best thing. SLU went up to Whitewater, Wis. for the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey Association’s conference tournament and took home the tourney crown.
“By finishing in the championship game of the conference and bringing home the trophy, it eased the situation of not making the national tournament,” said Bosch.
Bosch guided the Bills to their fourth year in club hockey and their first year at the Division I club level.
SLU took the fourth and final seed in the tourney. As a result, the Bills had to skate against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the No. 1 seed, for the right to go to the championship game.
UWW are three-time champions of the conference and had beaten SLU twice this season, 7-6 and 6-4. But Bosch and his team were confident that SLU could defeat UWW.
“We had the feeling it would be tough to beat us a third time,” Bosch said.
“We were peaking, while Wisconsin-Whitewater was struggling.”
The Bills were right. SLU fell behind in the first period 2-1 before rallying to tie the game 3-3.
The contest went into sudden-death overtime. SLU’s Chris Peterson knocked home the game-winner at the 10:25 mark of overtime.
Peterson received a pass in the slot from Tim Niedbalski behind the goal line. Peterson whacked at the puck two times before getting it past the goalie on the third try.
In the championship game against Minnesota, the Bills trailed again. The Golden Gophers led 3-2 after the second period.
But SLU erupted to tie the game in the second period and then tacked on two more goals in the third period to win the championship 5-3.
Niedbalski netted a hat trick, with two of those goals coming when the Billikens were short-handed.
The game was a wide-open contest, as the Gophers outshot the Bills 50-41.
Bosch said, “They’re a very fast team. We didn’t match up as well. They had a little more speed than our defense is accustomed to.”
Goaltender Justin Stiehr started both games for SLU. He stopped 47 of 50 shots in the Minnesota game, securing the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
He was also selected to the all-tourney squad. Adam Brouk and Niedbalski also were named to the all-tourney team.
“Every player performed at a level they should have performed at at the end of the season,” Bosch said.
He noted that a slew of players stepped up in the tournament, like Jason Price, Chris Saxhaug, Brian Clinton and Nathan Hirsch.
The games were the last ones for seniors Jason Kempf, Shawn Barry and Stiehr. “It was good for them to finish off on a high note,” Bosch said.
With only three graduating players, the future looks bright for next year’s club, which will jump from the GLCHA to the Central States Collegiate Hockey League.
“We’ve done something to raise the bar,” Bosch said. “We have something to build on right now.”
SLU finished the season with a 16-18-2 record.
