Trusting that a shuffle in chemistry was the solution for what ailed the team, Vannelli pulled Ryan O’Neill from the wing on the second line and thrust him on the first line with fellow seniors Rob Christy and Brendan McFadden.

The mix resulted in both lines combining for three quick goals in less than five minutes at the start of the second period to help St. Thomas Academy build a lead it needed to hang on for a 4-3 victory over a Stillwater team that refused to go away.

“I think we have a very deep team,” O’Neill said. “Once we made that switch, it seemed like everything started to come together and we were able to put a couple [of goals] in.”

Vannelli was pleased with the result.

“This is the best I’ve seen (O’Neill) play all season,” he said. “He showed he can be a top player, and I think he did really well with Christy and McFadden. Hopefully, we’ve got something there.”

The three seniors certainly clicked, and the newly formed second line of Nico Vega, Jackson Hallum and Luke Herzog cashed in as well, with Herzog scoring twice in that five-minute span.

Herzog tallied the game's first goal just 1 minute, 13 seconds into the second period. He was assists by Christy, who added his own goal a short time later on assists from O’Neill and McFadden.

“Those guys are super fast, super skilled, and they’ve got big bodies,” O’Neill said of his new linemates. “They play hard at both ends, and they are able to create room and opportunity for me.”

The lead, however, proved tenuous. St. Thomas Academy, ranked No. 11 in this week’s Class 2A coaches’ poll, weathered the storm of three power-play goals in the final two periods by Stillwater, which fought tenaciously and physically to counter the Cadets’ speed.

While allowing three scores on the penalty kill is not optimal, it is not something to dwell on too much, said Vannelli, who added that his team was out of position too often. It’s an issue that could be somewhat easily fixed moving forward in the season.

“Five-on-five, I thought we were fantastic,” he said. “It’s kind of odd that we lost our composure (today) killing penalties, because that’s usually a strength of ours.”

Stillwater’s two goals with the man advantage late in the second period trimmed St. Thomas Academy's lead to one heading to the third, but the Cadets pushed their advantage back to two goals when third-line junior forward Riley O’Brien scored 1 minute, 42 seconds into the final period.

From there, St. Thomas Academy (6-1-0, 5-0-0) kept a lid on the No. 15-2A Ponies (6-2-1, 0-1-0).

“We played with a lot of confidence today,” O’Neill said. “Everyone’s feet were moving; everyone played as a team, and together we were able to finish strong.”