There was plenty of reason to be merry Thursday, as the Cadets grabbed the lead for good just 45 seconds into their bout with Moorhead. From there, St. Thomas Academy seized on their opportunities and played the kind of fundamental hockey that comprises the bread and butter that reflects Randolph’s style. The result? A 4-1 victory at the Tradition Holiday Invitational at Dakotah! Ice Center in Prior Lake. 

Outshot and out-pressured at times, STA fell back on the basics to weather the storm and keep Moorhead bottled up.

“We were able to do a lot of things well that we’ve been working on,” Randolph said. “We protected the house, we blocked shots, and we killed penalties. Little things…fundamental hockey.”

Cadets captain and leading scorer Tommy Cronin got the party started with the early goal, netting his 15th of the season and 25th point. Tommy Kertz and Max Candon would follow with goals of their own over the next eight minutes, burying Moorhead in a hole they fought desperately to escape.

Scoring opportunities came and went, but too many shots sailed high over the net or hit the pipe, and Moorhead was left flustered. Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman says he felt the team put together its best three-period stretch of the season, but simply could not convert.

“We just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Ammerman says. “I was impressed with our team’s compete and we got better as the game went on. I think we did a good job of creating opportunities, now the next step is capitalizing on them.”

St. Thomas Academy pushed its lead to 4-0 with another opening-minute score in the second period. When Moorhead’s push came back to shove, the Cadets hunkered down and continued to work on its systematic progression that has become a focal point for an STA team relying on 17 underclassmen. Of those players, two have seen varsity action as eighth-graders, and another six are freshmen. 

Roles are still being sorted out, and lines still being juggled a bit, but what is becoming clear is the style of play the Cadets will employ and what that means to each individual. Thursday was a good next step.

“We played 51 minutes and a more complete game,” Randolph says. “We played more of the way we need to play. We don’t have the skillset of a lot of teams, but what we do have is physicality and guys who are starting to understand that if we want to play well with the puck, then we need to play harder when we don’t have the puck.”

Production is coming from the expected places, like Cronin and fellow senior captain Zach Howard, who recorded an assist to push his season points total to 13, with four goals to his credit. But it was Candon who had perhaps the biggest role Thursday, netting a goal and assist, while providing a spark on the second line. Randolph split his top two weapons in Cronin and Howard, moving Howard to the second line. Working with Candon began clicking immediately and gave the Cadets options in how they spread out the veteran leadership with up-and-coming skill. 

Randolph praised Candon after the game, citing his size and compete level, as well as his willingness to engage in all the little things necessary to help the team get better. Extremely coachable as well, the coach expects big things—beyond his five goals and nine points—as the sophomore progresses. 

“He’s got great upside,” Randolph said of Candon. “With sophomores and young kids, you need to be patient, but give them hard coaching at the same time. Then by March, they’re pretty good players.”

Unbeaten through its first seven games, the Cadets have dropped two of its last four, though won two of three at the three-day tournament. They will now head into the New Year with a clearer picture of what it is they need to be, and a week to work on it before resuming action on Jan. 5 at home against Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

“This is a good weekend to figure out who we are and where we’re at,” Randolph said. “We’ve got a long, long way to go, but based on the growth of our young kids, I like where we are at. This whole season is going to be based on how quickly our young players can come along."