Program Outlook

St. Thomas has built a tradition of excellence in ice hockey since the program began intercollegiate play in 1920.

The 2004-05 national runner-up, St. Thomas is the Division III leader in all-time victories and one of two institutions to surpass 900 wins. The Tommies are now 991-574-64 in the 85-year history of their program. Among the 68 other Division III hockey programs, the next most men's hockey wins is 970 by Middlebury (81 seasons).

St. Thomas (2000, 2005) is the lone MIAC hockey program to reach the NCAA Division III championship game. The 2000 Tommies lost 2-1 to Norwich in the finals, while the 2005 Toms lost 5-0 to Middlebury. St. Thomas has made 13 NCAA playoff appearances, including six in the last 10 seasons. The Tommies have received 33 All-American honors since 1970.

The Tommies played their 1,500th men's hockey game in December 2003, and St. Thomas' 22-year head coach Terry Skrypek is closing in on 400 career victories with 394.

St. Thomas has won 29 conference championships, including 13 in the last 20 seasons. They've placed first or second in the MIAC 44 times, including 24 of the last 26 seasons. The Tommies have posted 26 consecutive winning seasons. They won the conference seven years in a row from 1989-95.

Skrypek was named National Coach of the Year in 2004-05. He will start his 22nd season in 2008-09. He's never had a losing season in 46 years as a player or as a prep and college coach (all at Minnesota private institutions). Skrypek is in a select group to coach teams to 300 wins in both high school and college.

Skrypek ranks in the top 10 among active Division III coaches in wins and winning percentage. He will go into 2008-09 with a 394-175-39 record (.680 win%).

Since the format began in 1983, the Tommies have been swept just four times in a regular-season conference weekend series, covering 200 weekends. They have advanced to the MIAC postseason playoffs in all 23 years the format has been in existence, and reached the finals 21 times. They recently have won conference playoff titles in 2004, 2005 and 2007, all on the road in the finals as the second seed.

The Tommies played for 25 seasons at St. Paul’s historic State Fairgrounds Coliseum before they moved into a new practice and game facility in November 2003 -- the 1,000-seat Saint Thomas Arena in Mendota Heights. The St. Thomas men's and women's teams and the Saint Thomas Academy boys' team share the $4 million, state-of-the-art arena, which includes separate locker rooms, a weight training room and shooting stations. UST is 45-17-3 since moving its home ice to Saint Thomas Ice Arena in January 2004.

The Tommies travel annually to the East Coast or to Colorado for a tournament, and also play the best Minnesota and Wisconsin teams. They keep approximately 30 players on the varsity roster.