Featured Flashback: St. Thomas hockey in 1924
The St. Thomas Tommies will begin a new chapter this Saturday, October 2. When the puck drops in St. Cloud against the Huskies, St. Thomas will have officially made the jump to Division I. The Tommies will be the second team in as many years to join the ranks of the top men’s division of college hockey. But unlike Long Island, who created a program from scratch prior to the 2020-21 season, St. Thomas has a long and storied history of hockey. This is a program that began play in 1920. Prior to this season, the Tommies had only been a part of one conference: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). With a new division comes new scenery. The Tommies will immediately participate in the revamped CCHA. However, the team must first play the national runner-up and NCHC powerhouse, St. Cloud State to begin the season. The home-and-home series will occur on Saturday and Sunday with the Tommies first home game taking place at the Xcel Energy Center; home of the Minnesota Wild.
In the featured photo, the St. Thomas hockey team is shown participating in an intrasquad scrimmage in 1924. The location is presumably on campus. The Tommies went 8-2 during the 1923-24 season. The program holds the record for most wins among all Division III hockey schools. As the sixth Division I hockey program in Minnesota, the program will have its hands full on the ice in the CCHA as well as the recruitment trail. But if past accomplishments are any indication and early trends continue for this new-look program, Rico Blasi’s team will not only fit right in, it will excel within the State of Hockey.
Photo Credit: Minnesota Historical Society.