From Central Michigan Life
By Megan Youngblood
After a perfect start to its season, Central Michigan Division III club hockey suffered back-to-back losses over the weekend.
An inability to capitalize and penalties, hurt the Chippewas as they lost 3-1 to Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday and 4-3 to Ferris State on Suday.
“We need to get better,” said head coach Tyler Cataline. “We need to let this weekend sink in.”
The Chippewas fall to 5-2 on the season.
Game One
In the first game of the weekend, CMU fell to the Eagles with a final score of 3-1.
“We lost,” Cataline said. “But when it comes down to rankings to only lose by two or three goals, that’s huge.”
FGCU started fast, scoring back-to-back goals in the first period to give them a 2-0 lead.
Halfway through the second period, the Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 while shorthanded.
After four unsuccessful powerplays, the Chippewas managed to sneak one past the FGCU goalie as sophomore forward Nathan Bottles pushed the score to 3-1.
Game Two
Unphased by Saturday’s loss, the Chippewas opened the scoring 30 seconds into the game as junior forward Jay Naidu found the back of the net, giving CMU the 1-0 lead.
Taking advantage of the Bulldogs being a man down, the Chippewas extended their lead to two with a powerplay goal from senior defensemen Charlie Hayes with just under five minutes left in the first.
“I had a long talk with them before the second period,” Cataline said. “We have to figure something out, we need to start playing a little more disciplined. Few of our penalties are deserved, but it is getting a little ridiculous. It shouldn’t get in our head but it does.”
Coming out of the box for an interference penalty, sophomore forward Isaac Gibbs added to his season tally as he extended the CMU lead to 3-0 two minutes into the second period.
The Bulldogs quickly recovered with two back-to-back goals just two minutes apart as they cut the lead to 3-2. Keeping their momentum alive, the Bulldogs tied the game 3-3 with just under a minute left in the second period.
Despite the Chippewas peppering FSU’s goalie and going on the powerplay twice in the third period, it would be the Bulldogs who come out on top by a final score of 4-3.
CMU takes on Norte Dame on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
“We will take this week off only have two practices, enjoy the weekend and get ready for Norte Dame.” Cataline said.
(Originally published at https://www.cm-life.com/article/2022/10/central-michigan-division-iii-hockey-loses-both-games-over-the-weekend)
