From Cleary Athletics
(Howell, MI)– The Cleary Cougars played a two game WHAC series vs. the UM-Dearborn Wolverines this Friday and Saturday, and the Wolverines used big scoring periods to earn a pair of victories.
In Game 1 at UM-Dearborn: Cleary got on the board first, after a Wolverine turnover in their defensive zone, Ben Gledhow recovered the puck, and centered it for a one-timer to Jonny Gardiner, who powered it home to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. The host Wolverines would respond with three straight goals to take a 3-1 advantage into the first intermission. Neither team scored in the 2nd period, and Cleary’s Zach Eakes would score the 3rd period’s only goal, with an assists from Cam Thomas and Joe Heinzelman, to narrow the deficit to 3-2. Unfortunately, Cleary was unable to find the equalizer, and UM-Dearborn held on to win by a 3-2 final score.
Tyler Krasofsky made 31 saves on 34 shots in the loss for Cleary.
In Game 2 vs. UM-Dearborn: UM-Dearborn would strike first, and take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. After a Cleary penalty, the Cougars would score a short-handed goal, after Zack Wiener scored, with an assist from Jonny Gardiner, to tie the game. Four straight Wolverine goals would give the visitors a 5-1 advantage, but Zach Eakes scored later in the 2nd period to cut the gap, after an assist from Joe Heinzelman, made the score 5-2. In the 3rd period, Zach Eakes would score again, this time with an assist from Jonny Gardiner, to narrow the deficit to 5-3, and still 10 minutes of game action remaining. Some late penalties stopped any and all momentum for the Cougars, as the game would end with a 5-3 scoreline.
Koby Kebbe suffered the loss in goal, allowing 5 goals and making 23 saves. Tyler Krasofsky finished the game in relief, allowing 0 goals and making 14 saves. Zach Eakes’ 2 goals now give him 7 points on the season (3 goals / 4 assists).
Cleary is now 7-18, 5-13 in the WHAC. The Cougars will be back in action next weekend when they play a non-conference series vs. the Kent State Golden Flashes. Cleary will host the Flashes on Friday, February 3, with the puck dropping at 8:00 PM.
(Originally published at https://clearycougars.com/sports/mice/2022-23/releases/20230128xvphm6)
