Johnnie hockey looks to defend conference titles this winter

The Johnnie hockey team finished the 2025-26 campaign 17-7-4 (10-3-3 MIAC), earning its first MIAC playoff championship since 2013.  

St. John’s also took home the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season champion honors — its first since 2020. Last season was just the fifth time in program history the Johnnies secured both regular-season and playoff honors.   

SJU faced off against Marian (Wisc.) on Halloween weekend (Oct. 30-31) for a two-game series at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud. The Johnnies secured a season-opening victory in game one 4-2 and settled for a 2-2 draw to finish the weekend. 

The non-conference affair gave SJU a taste of what it is like to have a target on its back as reigning conference champions.  

“This year teams aren’t going to take us lightly; [they] will be ready for us every night,” head coach Doug Schueller said, who is in his 19th season at SJU. “They’re going to want to step up and play hard and physical. I think we ran into that a little bit tonight.” 

Senior forward Jack Wandmacher echoed senior forward Logan Lyke’s comments, saying the key to success is playing smart Johnnie hockey. 

“We know what it takes to win games, especially in the MIAC. Just hard, gritty, low-scoring games, and obviously, can’t make mistakes. They happen, but just every game, we play our system, and then it’ll pay off in the end,” Wandmacher said. 

Parker Gnos has returned his senior season with a captain patch on his chest and a chip on his shoulder after suffering a season-ending leg injury back in January against St. Mary’s. 

“I think that we have a lot of leaders in this room, but it’s a big honor to be the guy that everybody looks to. I think that with last year and going to the MIAC championship, we have big shoes to fill, and we just got to keep taking one day at a time,” Gnos said. 

The departure of last season’s senior class left plenty of locker stalls for newcomers to occupy. Schueller and his staff brought in nine first-years and a senior transfer to fill in shoes of their own.  

Senior forward Luke Levandowski transferred in from Lake Superior State (Division I) with hopes of making an impact on and off the ice for the Johnnies. 

“I’m a pretty outgoing guy; I’ll bring everybody together… I’m a teammate that you can come talk to about anything,” Levandowski said. “I bring a lot of speed and whatnot to our game which hopefully will help throughout the season.” 

CSB+SJU’s student body rallied around the hockey squad during the team’s conference tournament run against Bethel in the semifinals and Gustavus in the championship last year. 

“Being part of a big St. John’s community, everyone’s super supportive of the hockey team, and then it’s nice to be able to provide some entertainment for all the Johnnie fans out there,” Lyke said. 

Non-conference play continues as the Johnnies recognize ten players for their efforts over the past four years on Senior Night against UW-Superior on Nov. 6. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC) in St. Cloud. 

The Johnnies further familiarize themselves with the WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) as they go on the road against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 7 before battling conference playoff champion UW-Stout at the HBNHC on Nov. 12 and UW-River Falls across the border on Nov. 14. 

St. John’s wraps up November with its first MIAC home-and-away series against Concordia at the HBNHC on Nov. 19 before traveling to Moorhead on Nov. 21. 

“We just have to treat every game like it’s a playoff game. Just got to outwork everyone,” Lyke said. “[We] can’t fall back on our skill that we think we have, and we just got to make sure that we’re winning every battle that we get into.”