From The Alestle
By Grace Gentemann
In the first home game of the season, the SIUE club hockey team took their first victory against the Milwaukee Panthers with a final score of 3-2-1.
Captain Simon Maxfield and Forward Jakob Schreiber said nothing intimidated them coming onto the ice for the first time this season.
To start off the game, the first score of the night was by Drew LaRose in the first period, met shortly after by the second goal of the night by Connor Hinterser in the second period.
Goalie Brendan Rasch put up a fight with several shots on goal, being met with one complete goal in the second half.
With three seconds left in the third period, Schreiber managed to nail a buzzer-beating empty net goal to seal the 3-2-1 score against Milwaukee.
It was an aggressive game with multiple fights that resulted in halts of play and many players on both sides getting sent to the penalty box.
Maxfield said he was very proud of the efforts made by the team.
“[We are hoping to] build off what we did tonight and bring the same effort tomorrow,” Maxfield said.
Schreiber also said that working well as a team was a big factor in the success.
“This was the first game we collectively moved the puck as a team and possessed it,” Schreiber said.
Head Coach Tyler Elbrecht said he was thoroughly impressed with the performance the team put out in this game.
“Our guys played really well tonight. [For next game,] play the same way, stay out of the box a little bit, but bring the same effort,” Elbrecht said.
Elbrecht said he hoped the energy brought by the team this game would continue to carry them for the rest of the season.
“We are working as a group taking it day by day and hoping to win a championship at the end of the year,” Elbrecht said.
The club hockey team will play next at Illinois State University on October 6.
(Originally published at https://www.alestlelive.com/sports/article_853a6a0a-5d6f-11ee-99d7-cbf2169a3760.html)
