Tommies Subdue Bison in Honor of Seniors

04/26/2012, 8:38pm CDT

By UST Lax

With the regular season over, a look back on a season and, for some, a career.

Lead by the class of 2012, the Tommies capped off their regular season with a 12-5 victory over #10 ranked North Dakota State, and securing the #2 seed for the UMLC playoffs April 27-29. With the win the Tommies have received a first round bye, and will wait to play the winner of NDSU/St. Olaf in the semi final game.

The regular season match-up was played at St. Thomas on a beautiful Sunday morning in front of many parents, fans and alumni from both squads. Before the game began, the seniors from both teams were honored for their years of dedication to their respective programs. All six Tommie seniors started the game against the Bison. Early on the Bison received a 3-minute, non-releasable penalty for an illegal stick, giving the potent Tommie offense the opportunity to play with an extra man. But the Tommies were not able to capitalize on the man-up opportunity, and the Bison controlled the tempo of the first quarter, which ended 1-1.

St. Thomas rose to the occasion in the second quarter, though, scoring six goals and taking a commanding 7-2 lead at half time. Only having 1 senior on the offensive side of the ball, Michael Fitzgerald, allowed the Tommies to show off their young talent. Netting three goals each were sophamore Giuseppe Palermo and freshman Nick Altmann while Altmann's classmate Peter Schubloom also scored twice. The other five seniors all play on the defensive side of the ball and their experience shined through during this tough match-up against a Bison squad that is youthful on the offensive side. The strong Tommie D came out on top this game holding the talented Bison offense to just 5 goals with a final score of 12-5.

The team will now quickly shift their focus to the post season, where every team begins with a clean slate. No one knows this better than Coach Moosbrugger. The Tommie coaching staff will use this week to prepare not only for NDSU, but a potential rematch with their archrival St. Johns on Sunday for the automatic bid to Greenville.

Check out the website this week for a complete preview of the UMLC playoffs and a look ahead to Greenville and the MCLA National Tournament!