BOSTON, Mass. – Maryville University M1 hockey wrapped up their 2022-23 season with a 7-3 loss to No. 8 Indiana Tech in the opening round of the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament on Saturday.
 
The Saints went down 2-0 in the first after two powerplay goals by the Warriors. They responded with a powerplay goal from Will Smith to pull it within one at 15:43. Indiana Tech ended the first period with a last-minute goal to go up 3-1.
 
Head Coach John Hogan decided to make a goalie change at the start of the second period. Penalty trouble continued for the Saints to go along with broken defensive plays that allowed the Warriors to stretch the lead to 6-2 heading into the second intermission.
 
Maryville made a push in the third period, getting a goal from Sam Edwards off assists from Luke MacLeod and Smith with nearly 10 minutes left in the game. The Saints made one last-ditch effort when he pulled the goaltender on a powerplay with three minutes remaining to give them a two-man advantage. Indiana Tech capitalized on the opportunity, however, with an empty net goal to finish off a 7-3 final.
 
"To be honest, a frustrating way to go out in Boston," said Hogan. "While the seeds show a toss-up game between the No. 8 and No. 9 teams in the country, we felt pretty good about our preparation and game plan. Unfortunately, we didn't show up when the lights were brightest. Credit to Indiana Tech for playing a well-structured and hard-working playoff style – they deserved to win the game. Our inconsistencies as a team this season burnt us when the moments mattered the most."
 
M1 hockey finishes with a 20-11 overall record and ended the season in the ACHA top 10 for the first time in program history. The Saints will graduate three seniors in goalie Johnny Massara, defenseman and alternate captain Cole Bohnet, and Captain Jack Harrison.
 
"These three young men embody everything it means to play hockey as a Maryville Saint," said Hogan. "With only 4 years of ACHA Men's 1 play in the books as a still young program, everything good we have accomplished can be directly contributed to these three student-athletes. We are forever in their debt and when we win a national championship, it will be because of the foundation Johnny, Cole, and Jack helped set for us."
 
New Heights and Records for this season's M1 Team:
-         Five top-10 wins including No. 2 Ohio (2), No. 5 Liberty, No. 6 UCO (2)
-         Finished in the top 10 for the first time in program history (No. 9)
-         20+ regular season wins for consecutive seasons as a team
 
Hogan when asked about the steps made as a program this season: "We finished last season as the No. 14 seed in the national tournament making it to the Round of 16 Friday games. This season, we played well enough in the regular season to get ourselves to the Round of 16 Saturday games as the ninth seed. We certainly made strides as a program playing a much harder schedule. But, we need to demand more from ourselves to reach our goal of winning a National Championship. This must fuel us as we look to start back up in the fall."
 
The Saints will be back in action in just over five months as they host the McKendree Bearcats on Sept. 15 to start the 2023-24 campaign at the Maryville University Hockey Center.