From Aquinas College Athletics
By Tommy Gehl
Canton, Mich. — The Aquinas college men’s ice hockey team competed in conference play with the Cardinals of Concordia on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 2 & 3). The first game was a physical one as emotions soared and frustrations flared. The Saints once again found themselves in overtime, and shortly after in a shootout. AQ is no stranger to shootouts as this was their fourth one of the regular season, which also gave them the edge as Aquinas scored in the third round and took the game.
The next night (Feb. 3), the Saints played on Concordia’s ice. This game was heightened as the teams had a physical contest the night before. AQ looked to keep the energy flowing as the Cardinals looked to stop the sweep. The game was back and forth as no team managed a goal for the first two periods. Both teams managed to sink the puck into the back of the net in the final period of play. But the Cardinals only managed to do it once, while the boys in maroon managed three.
Theses two games push Aquinas to a 17-15, while the Cardinals fall to 12-14-3.
Aquinas 3 (1), Concordia 3 (0)
The first period of the contest was chaotic as both teams looked for an early lead. Miscues and misdirection lead both sides to make mistakes. In time, both parties knocked off their rust and began to play in motion. The Saints bounced back into action first as Brandon Rozema placed a line drive pass to Dylan Rumpke. Rumpke had beat the defense and then beat the keeper to give AQ the first goal of the game at 12:39.
The Saints rejoice came to an end as Concordia found a rebuttal with just over three minutes left in the first.
The remainder of the period went scoreless.
Both teams had regrouped during the intermission and returned to the ice for the second period.
Aquinas, once again, struck first. This time Xavier Erickson drove in a pass from Alex Johnson, giving AQ a 2-1 lead with 15:44 left to play in the second. This time the rejoicing lasted even shorted as the Cardinals struck back close to two minutes later. Leveling the score to 2-2.
- Rozema didn’t fancy the even score as, this time, he tallied up the score with assists from Matt Denhartigh and Rumpke. With just 2:45 left in the second, the Saints held a 3-2 lead. No team managed an additional goal as the period came to a conclusion.
The physicality and emotion continued the rise as the contest roared on. This time, Concordia was the first to strike in the third period, with the first power play of the evening. With 16:12 remaining in regulation, the Cardinals poked in an equalizer. Both teams fought on for the remaining 16 minutes, but neither were able to find the upper hand to win out in regulation.
This conference showdown was headed to overtime.
The speed of play in overtime was sporadic, as both teams played slow to find their advantage. There were eight total shots in the five minutes of overtime, none of which brought the contest to an end. After a nailbiting overtime, the scoreboard still stood as 3-3, signifying the beginning of a shootout.
Aquinas elected to shoot second. Both of the first two rounds went scoreless, no one managing to beat the opposing keeper. Concordia approached with their third attempt and were thwarted by Aquinas goalie Michael Allman. The third shooter for the Saints was Alex Johnson. A. Johnson was the shootout winner in the previous bout with John Carroll.
Johnson began his approach with a large sweep to the left. With a quick cut and a flick, he sunk the puck in the top half of the net and put the Saints over the Cardinals with a 3(1)-3(0) score line.
By the Numbers
Allman held it down in the net as he once again kept the game alive through a shootout. Allman faced 47 shots including the shootout and only allowed three total. Granting him a .9361 rating on the evening.
Johnson collected his second shootout winning goal.
Rumpke, Johnson, and Rozema all tallied two points a piece.
Aquinas 3, Concordia 1
The next evening (Feb. 3) the Cardinals hosted the Saints. CUAA hoped to finally take down Aquinas, while AQ looked to complete the regular season sweep.
This contest was a true back and forth as both teams had attempts at net, but neither found entry.
The first and second periods of play went without a single goal.
CUAA were the first ones to poke the puck into the net in this game. Clawing their way through the AQ defenses. The Cardinals managed a goal under eight minutes into the final period.
Aquinas looked for an answer and were unable to find one swiftly. Nearly 11 minutes later Logan Wesolek found it, netting himself an unassisted goal giving the Saints their sought after equalizer. And with close to four minutes remaining in play, AQ went on a shooting spree and collected two more goals off of power plays. The third goal came from Brandon Rozema, with assists from Nicola Vogel and Alex Johnson. With just 15 second remaining Ryan Kleber found his way in with an assist from Vogel.
The only shootout this contest saw was a western one as the Saints pocketed three goals in less than four minutes. Granting them a 3-1 victory, and the complete regular season sweep of the Concordia Cardinals.
By the Numbers
Max Johnston held it down for the Saints as he only allowed a single goal.
Vogel found himself two points.
Up Next
The boys in maroon return to play on Thursday (Feb. 8) to make up their contest with #19 Indiana Tech. The game is slotted for 2:30 p.m. at the SportONE Parkview Icehouse in Fort Wayne, Ind.
(Originally published at https://aqsaints.com/news/2024/2/3/mens-ice-hockey-saints-cage-the-cardinals.aspx)
