Senior forward Alec Broetzman gave St. Thomas Academy a second chance to defeat Metro East Conference rival Hill-Murray and helped the Cadets find a bit of redemption.

Broetzman scored two goals as St. Thomas Academy defeated the Pioneers 4-2 in a rematch at Aldrich Arena on Saturday.

The first matchup came on Jan. 17 as Hill-Murray met the Cadets on a man-made rink at St. Paul’s Holman Field as part of Hockey Day Minnesota. Broetzman scored a goal to even the game 2-2 late in the second period, but Hill-Murray went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

Broetzman made sure the second game would not end in the same fate for St. Thomas Academy.

The Cadets trailed 2-1 in the second period when Broetzman capitalized on the power play to score the equalizing goal with 7 seconds remaining on the game clock. After St. Thomas Academy won the faceoff in the Pioneers’ zone, the puck moved back to senior defenseman Seamus Donohue, who found space and unleashed a slapshot. Broetzman, who was sitting in the slot with a couple other bodies, deflected the puck into the goal. 

“Once I saw that lane open, I knew he was going to shoot it, and I thought I had to try and tip it,” Broetzman said. 

A sense of deja vu could have filled the Cadets, who were in a similar situation against the Pioneers three weeks ago. Donohue, however, said Broetzman’s goal gave St. Thomas Academy confidence.

“It was a huge momentum changer, and they thought they had (the game) in the bag and we were able to pop one,” Donohue said.

Broetzman popped his second goal of the game just 56 seconds into the third period. He gathered the loose puck, skated down the right side and maneuvered by a couple of Cadets' defenders. After created space, Broetzman uncorked a wrist shot that found the net and put St. Thomas Academy ahead for good.

The multi-goal game raised Broetzman’s season total to a team-leading 27.

Cadets co-head coach Greg Vannelli said he was impressed by Broetzman’s performance. 

“It was really, really good,” Vannelli said. “We know that he can shoot if he gets the puck and he gets time.”

St. Thomas Academy entered the matchup with Hill-Murray coming off a 5-3 loss to Mahtomedi on Feb. 7. Donohue said the Cadets were in a little slump but received a boost after defeating the Pioneers.

“We proved to a lot of people, we’re the dragon. You can’t slay us,” Donohue said.

Broetzman said this St. Thomas Academy team has the same qualities of the Cadets' squads that won five Class 1A state titles (2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013).

“When you surround yourself with greatness, it creates greatness, so I think we have all the greatness we need to be great,” Broetzman said.

Senior forward Alec Broetzman scored two goals as St. Thomas Academy defeated rival Hill-Murray 4-2 in a Metro East Conference showdown Saturday night at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

Senior forward Christiano Versich finished with a goal and an assist for the Cadets, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches poll.

Hill-Murray senior defenseman Davis Zarembinski opened the scoring just under 5 minutes into the contest. St. Thomas Academy answered quickly with a goal from junior forward Will Jerry nearly 2 minutes later.   

The Pioneers regained the medway through the second period when sophomore forward Marko Reifenberger’s shot was partially blocked and then kicked in by a Cadets’ defender. 

Broetzman evened the score with 7 seconds to play in the second period as he deflected a slapshot at the blue line from senior defenseman Seamus Donohue.

Broetzman’s did most of the work on his second goal. He skated down the right side boards and passed a couple of Hill-Murray defenders to find an open area where he unleashed a wrist shot that beat Hill-Murray sophomore goalie Jake Begley and give St. Thomas Academy a 3-2 lead. 

An empty-netter from Versich, a Mr. Hockey award finalist, with 3 seconds to play in the game capped the scoring for the Cadets.

Senior goalie Matt Snow made 23 saves for St. Thomas Academy, while Bagley had 26 for the Pioneers.

St. Thomas Academy (19-3-0, 9-2) is tied with No. 4-2A Hill-Murray (16-7-0, 9-2) for second place in the league after the victory.

The Cadets square off against Breck on Feb. 11. The Pioneers hosts Tartan on Feb. 12 in another Metro East game.   

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