CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 9, 2016
Hockey Team Opens ACHA National Tournament With Pair of Victories
(Editor's note: The Calvin men's hockey team opened play at the ACHA Division III National Tournament in nearby Byron Center. The Knights have skated to a pair of pool play victories and can advance to the national semifinals with a win against Bryn Athyn College which opening faceoff set for 7:45 p.m. at the Southside Ice Arena)
WEDNESDAY RECAP
Calvin 3, McKendree 1
By Gina de Haan
DORR, Mich. - On Wednesday evening, in the second pool play game of the ACHA DIII National Tournament, the Calvin men's hockey team faced off against Mckendree University, the #3 seed in the pool.
The Knights were coming off a 6-0 win over Kennesaw State University, while the Bearcats were looking to bounce back from a 7-2 loss to top-seeded Bryn Athyn College.
Calvin picked up its second win of the tournament, defeating Mckendree 3-1.
Early in the first period, Ryan Bradley put the Knights on the board. Bradley's goal was assisted by Noah Szenderski and Sam Shaver.
Calvin goaltender Alex Gross made a couple big saves in the first few minutes of the second period as both teams struggled to put to puck in the back of the net.
Despite putting 28 shots on goal in the second period, the Knights only scored once.
The Knights finally put one past the Bearcats goalie, Jared Bradley, with 3:26 remaining in the period. Thomas Rietema, assisted by Ryan Racanelli and Szenderski, scored the lone second period goal to extend the Knights lead to 2-0.
In the third period, Ryan Betts added another goal for Calvin. Ben Brouwer and Ian McKinch picked up assists on the scoring play.
Mckendree scored its first and only goal with 4:23 left to play to make the score 3-1, but took a penalty shortly after, and the Knights were able to hang on for the remainder of the of the game.
Alex Gross was a key player in the Knights' victory, recording 32 saves.
"I thought we came out with pretty good energy again. Mckendree is a good hockey team, as we found out. They play hard and do a great job at playing their systems," said Calvin head coach Mike Petrusma. "Overall, I'm really happy with our effort. I think we're playing well in all facets of the game, but we just need to finish a little bit better right now."
Calvin scored three goals on 56 shots, while the Bearcats recorded 33 shots on goal.
"We're looking forward to a challenge tomorrow," said Petrusma. "Bryn Athyn is a really good hockey team and it should be a lot of fun."
The Knights take on the Bryn Athyn Lions tomorrow in their final pool play game. The winner will earn a spot in the semifinals of the ACHA DIII National Tournament. Puck drop is at 7:45 PM at Southside Ice Arena.
TUESDAY RECAP
Calvin 6, Kennesaw State 0
BYRON CENTER, Mich. - In the first pool play game of the ACHA DIII National Tournament, Calvin men's hockey team faced off against Kennesaw State University.
Calvin got on the board first after David Zwiers scored on a two-on-one odd man rush, assisted by Jordan Duncan.
Calvin was called for 2 penalties late in the first period, but held onto a 1-0 lead heading into first intermission.
The Knights had a strong second period, scoring three goals.
To start the period, the Knights killed off both penalties.
13:29 into the second, Tommy Rietema scored, assisted by Duncan and Austin Kath, to make the score 2-0.
Less than a minute later, Ryan Racanelli added another goal for the Knights off a pass from Duncan.
With 2:19 left in the period, Racenelli scored his second goal of the game, assisted by Duncan, and the Knights headed into second intermission with a 4-0 advantage.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, Calvin scored once again, this time off a goal by Cameron Bell, assisted by Racanelli and Keegan Weckesser.
Weckesser scored the last goal of the game with 4:58 left on the clock to make the final score 6-0.
In the victory the Knights outshot the Owls 83-14.
In the shutout, goaltender Alex Gross recorded 14 saves.
"I thought we got off to a good start, just getting after them," said head coach Mike Petrusma. We had a really good jump in the first period that really set the tone even though it took us a while to put the puck in the net. I was really happy with the guys' effort and how we attacked today."
Received on Wed Mar 9 22:25:14 2016
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