The women’s basketball team has won 20 games in a row and has not lost a game in the MIAC. This week’s Tommie Spotlight features sophomore forward Taylor Young who leads the team with 13.2 points per game and has been dominant on defense.

This is News in :90 for Monday, Feb. 6, 2012.

This is Sports in :60 for Monday, Feb. 6, 2012.

Sophomore goaltender Alise Riedel stopped 27 of 28 shots to continue the women’s hockey team’s six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory against Bethel Saturday night at home.

Riedel has given up just nine goals in the team’s last 11 games, and she has a 94 percent season save percentage.

“Our team has really been working on our defensive zone so it’s really a team effort, allowing me to save a lot more pucks,” Riedel said. “It’s really just a big team effort, everything that we’re doing right now.”

The team effort seems to be working for the Tommies.The team has its longest winning streak of the year and has gone from ninth to second place in the conference since December.

Coach Tom Palkowski said his team’s recent success is because of “hard work, plain and simple.”

“We sat and decided we were going to dedicate ourselves on and off the ice,” Palkowski said. “The kids are working their tails off, not just in practice but also in the games now.”

The dedication paid off Saturday night when three different Tommies scored goals.

Sophomore forward Kelsey Barnier helped boost the Tommies by scoring their first goal of the night and also tallied an assist on sophomore forward Maria Bothwell’s goal.

“My linemate, Christina Rozeske, went hard to the puck, creating a two on one,” Barnier said. “She passed it over to me, I got the shot, the rebound went out front…I just hit it home.”

Sophomore Jenny Saxon scored the other goal for St. Thomas.

With playoffs approaching, the team is looking to stay focused and continue its winning streak.

“Everything we are doing seems to be working right now,” Riedel said. “We are just going to keep doing what we are doing, and hopefully it will pay off in the end.”

The Tommies are back in action against St. Catherine Friday, Feb. 10, at home.

Jake Swansson can be reached at swan7230@stthomas.edu.

The No. 7-ranked men’s hockey team used goals from five different players to clinch the MIAC championship after defeating the Bethel Royals 5-2 Friday night at home.

This is the team’s first regular-season conference title since 2006, and theTommies will also be the top seed in the playoffs, despite having three MIAC games left.

After the game, senior assistant captain Chris Hickey said that he was proud of his team.

“As a player on the team, it’s great to see a bunch of guys step up,” Hickey said. “Any given guy can score at any given time, and it makes you play at ease when everyone is playing tough.”

 Coach Jeff Boeser is also proud of the team’s hard work.

“We don’t really have one superstar,” Boeser said. “We have 35 players that bring it everyday, work hard and play together. That’s been our motto all year long.”

The win also kept the team’s 10-game winning streak alive.

“We’re not thinking about the win streak,” Hickey said. “It’s tough to even think about the championship right now – the end goal is still out there.”

Freshman Chris Cass scored the team’s first goal on a power play in the second period, followed by goals from junior Travis Baker and freshman Loren French.

“I got a really nice pass from (senior) Matt Lipinski right out front and was able to put the puck in the back of the net,” French said.

Junior Riley Horgan and senior captain Rob Philipp each scored goals in the third period to clinch the win for the Tommies.

Junior goalie Tyrone Simcoe stopped 22 of 24 shots.

French and Boeser both agreed that though the team already clinched the MIAC title, “nothing changes” when it comes to thinking about the next three regular-season games.

“We’re approaching it like we have to get ready for the playoffs,” Boeser said. “We are going to keep getting better. I’m very proud of what we’ve done, but there’s always a bigger picture.

The Tommies will play the Royals again Saturday, Feb. 4, at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

 Terese Quarberg can be reached at quar3707@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.

This is Sports in :60 for Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.

This is News in :90 for Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.

This is Sports in :60 for Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.

The St. John’s men’s basketball team (12-7 overall, 8-6 MIAC) defeated St. Thomas (14-6, 11-4 MIAC) 61-56 Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena, completing a regular season sweep of the Tommies for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

At halftime, the St. Thomas community honored retired coach Steve Fritz, who led the Tommies to the Division III national championship last season, by dedicating the court to him. However, St. Thomas could not come away with the win in front of near capacity crowd of 1,650.

“(The loss) really sucks, especially on dedication night to coach Steve Fritz,” junior guard John Nance said. “I really wanted to get that win for him tonight, and it just sucks for him to have a dedication night and not even get a win.”

An early run put the Tommies ahead 7-4 in the game’s opening minutes, but Johnnie senior forward Aaron Barmore kept it close by putting up 12 points in the first half.

“We didn’t get up on (Barmore) and pressure him quite well enough in the first half,” coach John Tauer said. “Their penetration hurt us quite a bit… and we just weren’t very good tonight.”

A near capacity crowd of 1,650 people turned out for the Tommie-Johnnie men’s basketball game. (Nick McAndrews/TommieMedia)

Despite a tight first half, sophomore guard Erik Tengwall ‘s 3-pointer sent the Tommies into halftime with a 29-28 lead.

Second half fizzle

The second half went back-and-fourth, but junior guard Noah Kaiser hit a deep 3-pointer to give the Tommies a 45-43 lead with 8:59 left in the game.

The turning point in the game happened when Johnnie sophomore forward Seth Marx hit a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 run. With 4:50 to go in the game, St. Thomas trailed 49-47 and never took back the lead.

Nance had an opportunity to pull St. Thomas closer to a tie by getting to the foul line with 37 seconds left, but he missed both attempts. Nance led the Tommies in scoring with 20 points, and his teammates were impressed by his strong play.

“John’s been picking it up as the year’s gone on,” Kaiser said. “He’s been a real strong player for us, done great things. Without him, we wouldn’t have even been in the game.”

Tauer said that this is a tough loss for his team.

“We’re certainly incredibly disappointed no matter the circumstances,” Tauer said. “We certainly fully expected to play better and put on a better show. We appreciate the crowd support, but we’re just very disappointed in how we played.”

The loss dropped St. Thomas to second place in the MIAC standings. Gustavus took first place in the conference with a 64-63 home victory over third-place St. Olaf.

The Tommies will face Augsburg (13-7, 10-5 MIAC) next, and Tauer said that his team has much to improve on before its next game.

“Defense, offense, the press… we have got to take a hard look in the mirror after a game like this,” Tauer said.

Nick McAndrews can be reached at mcan1933@stthomas.edu.