Club hockey snaps slump with 17 goals over two games
The Arizona club hockey team swept St. Louis this weekend at the Tucson Convention Center, 11-3 and 6-0, ending a five-game winless streak over the hapless Billikens.
The Icecats (12-8) broke out of their goal-scoring slump against the Billikens in a big way during Friday's win, and the momentum continued into Saturday.
"This whole game was surreal," Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski said after Saturday's game. "It didn't feel like a game. It almost felt like the 'Twilight Zone.'"
Freshman forward Matt Conover opened the scoring Saturday night 35 seconds into the first period, and senior forward Cole Dunlop lit up the net just before the end of the first period, scoring Arizona's second goal of the night with 36 seconds left on the clock.
Things got choppy on the ice Saturday during the second period when Craig Irwin went down in the offensive zone after getting kneed by a St. Louis defender.
Scrums broke out between St. Louis players and senior defenseman Mike Pelletier and freshman defenseman Zack Stommen after the knee-check on Irwin. After the fracas was diffused, penalties were issued to both sides during a period where the referees handed out 48 penalty minutes to St. Louis and 23 minutes to Arizona.
Amidst the penalties, the Icecats tacked on three more goals in the second period. Senior forward Brian Pollock, sophomore forward Scott Marshall and Conover all netted goals for Arizona to take a 5-0 lead.
Freshman forward Robbie Nowinksi had the lone goal in the third period with two minutes left in the game to seal the 6-0 victory.
Freshman goaltender Nick Boddy got the start on Saturday and recorded his second shutout of the year. It was the first start for Boddy since the Weber State series on Dec. 2.
"It felt great to get back out there," Boddy said. "It's been awhile since I got the start, but the guys in front of me did a great job. I saw the puck, and we got the win."
Friday's contest was more intense, with the Icecats looking to solve some of their offensive struggles over the break.
Arizona poured it on the Billikens, scoring 11 goals, including seven in the third period, and three power-play goals Friday night.
"We needed a game like this to start putting the puck in the net. We threw a lot of rubber at them and mixed up the lines a little bit," Golembiewski said.
Mike Pelletier gained his 100th career point Friday night, an impressive accomplishment for a defenseman.
"That was huge for me personally," Golembiewski said, "We don't get a lot of defensemen to score that many points, and I'm really proud of Mike for that."
"I didn't realize it was," said Pelletier. "Coach told me I was around there. I think my freshman year helped out the most, but it's pretty cool."
The Icecats host Colorado State for a weekend series, which opens up a brutal five-week stretch of the schedule, when Arizona will take on Weber State, ASU and Oklahoma.
"We needed this to break out a little bit," Golembiewski said. "We're not going to rest on this. We've got a tough stretch of games ahead of us."