This past weekend brought twists and turns for the Redbird hockey program, with wins and losses; we have so much to talk about! Our D1 team took on Drury University at home, unfortunately losing both of their games. D2 also played at home against Lewis University, winning both of their games, 4-3 on Friday and 7-2 on Saturday. D3 was our only team to play on the road, and they won both games, 6-5 and 6-2!
Starting with our D1 team, who did not have the best weekend, but we still have some exciting things to talk about. The starting lineup of Friday’s game was #18 Ryan Spreyne, #11 Connor O’Neal, #8 Lucca Weinkauf, #22 Jacob Swiatek, #39 Sam Truxaw, and goalie #30 Kason Yamada. The only goal of the game was scored by alternate captain #15 Pavel Bakhtin with an assist from #92 Dominic Dager and #23 Jaycob Bland.
Despite a hard loss, the team regrouped for Saturday’s game, and while they still lost, the team let in fewer goals and scored more points! With a starting lineup of #56 Angelo Massaro, #29 Brody Neish, #8 Lucca Weinkauf, #21 Nathan Zimmerman, #2 Ben Lechner, and goalie #30 Kason Yamada, the team improved from Friday’s game! The Birds scored one goal in the first period from #56 Angelo Massaro, assisted by #24 Logan Wright and #29 Brody Neish. With about 5 minutes left in the 1st period, Yamada was replaced by #35 Noah Van Herik, who played the remainder of the game in net. The final goal of the game was scored by #27 Robin Kuusik with assists from #56 Angelo Massaro and #29 Brody Neish. The final score of the game was 2-7.
Our D2 team had an exciting weekend sweep against Lewis University! The team played at home with a starting lineup of #72 Dmitry Tolstov, #13 AJ Kowalczyk, #86 Landon Hensley, #12 Nate Maxwell, #96 Mason Buchanan, and goalie #45 Cooper Darovic on Friday. The Redbirds took an early lead with 2 goals in the first period from #65 Will Grinton with an assist from #19 Jack Keaty and from #15 Jake Sulek unassisted. The team was up by 2 goals going into the 2nd! The 3rd goal of the game was scored by #27 Michael Ryndak with assists from #37 Nathan Galvan and #22 Trent Fisk. At the end of regulation, the Flyers and Birds were tied 3-3. The team got on the ice for overtime and kicked it into high gear. The winning goal of the game was scored by #6 Zack Dawson with an assist from #19 Jack Keaty! The final score of the game was 4-3, making it a Redbird win!
The team took Friday’s energy into Saturday’s game and dominated. With a starting lineup of #19 Jack Keaty, #65 Will Grinton, #6 Zack Dawson, #12 Nate Maxwell, #13 AJ Kowalczyk, and goalie #45 Cooper Darovic, the team got off to an early lead. The first goal of the game was scored by the Flyers, but their lead didn’t last long; the Redbirds’ very own Dmitry Tolstov scored less than a minute later! The team went into the 1st intermission with the lead thanks to a goal from #32 Kaleb Freyman with an assist from #72 Dmitry Tolstov. #96 Mason Buchanan opened the scoring in the 2nd period about 3 minutes in. The next goal was scored by #65 Will Grinton with an assist from #12 Nate Maxwell about 5 minutes later. The final goal of the 2nd period was from #86 Landon Hensley with an assist from #7 Blake Kumor with 7 minutes left in the period. The 3rd period brought the Birds 2 more goals from #6 Zack Dawson with an assist from #65 Will Grinton, and a second goal from #72 Dmitry Tolstov with an assist from #86 Landon Hensley. D2 put on an amazing performance on the ice and ended the game with a 7-2 Redbird win!
After a great weekend, we have a couple of great players to shout out! Starting with Zack Dawson’s incredible overtime game-winning goal! Congratulations on a great game and a wonderful goal. Our next player is Kaleb Freyman, who not only had an amazing game but scored his first college goal in Saturday’s game! Congratulations to both of you; thank you for all of your hard work and determination here at D2!
The D3 Rebirds were the only team to play away from home this past weekend; the team traveled to Lincolnwood to play Loyola University-Chicago. The team played at 8:50 pm with a starting lineup of #13 Cole Lingenfelter, #83 Jason Rediger, #21 Murphy Montalvo,#12 Nick Vangel, #10 Mario Gracia, and Goalie #50 Matt DiFilippo, and the game was electric. #12 Nick Vangel opened the scoring in the first period, followed by #6 Avery Bochenek to put the Birds a goal ahead of the Wolves with a score of 2-1. The 2nd period was full of the same momentum, with 2 more goals scored. The first was from #53 Justin Morrissey, and the second from #17 Peyton Enderle. The team was once again up by 1 goal: 4-3. The third period followed the same pattern as the others, with 2 more goals being scored by captain #20 Sam Santangelo and #6 Avery Bochenek. The final score of the wonderful game was 6-5.
The team took their winning spirit into Saturday’s game, where they played once again at 8:50 pm with a starting lineup of #17 Peyton Enderle, #20 Sam Santangelo, #6 Avery Bochenek, #7 Ryan Nayder, #4 William Deverick, and goalie #33 Sean Devalk. The Redbirds once again got off to an early start with 2 goals in the 1st period from #6 Avery Bochenek and captain #20 Sam Santangelo. Going into the 1st intermission, the team was tied at 2-2. Unfortunately for the Wolves, this would be the extent of their goals thanks to the Redbirds! The team scored 3 more goals during the 2nd period, two from #27 Austin Sweitzer and one from #17 Peyton Enderle. The final goal of the game was from #17 Peyton Enderle, making it his second of the game! The final score of the game was 6-2.
With such an amazing weekend, we have so many players to shout out! Starting with Sam Santangelo’s line with Avery Bochenek and Peyton Enderle, who scored 4 out of the 6 goals in Friday’s game! They carried the same momentum into Saturday’s game, scoring 4 out of the 6 goals once again! Also, a huge shoutout to Sean DeValk, who had a strong showing in net with 26 saves in Saturday’s game! Congratulations, guys, and thank you for all of your hard work!
Looking forward, as a team, the D1 Birds will travel to Michigan to play Grand Valley State University at the Hudsonville Ice Arena. The team will play on Friday, 11/13 at 7:30 pm and on Saturday, 11/14 at 4:30 pm! The D2 Birds will play at home facing the University of Missouri on Friday, 11/13 at 8:40 pm and Saturday, 11/14 at 6:30 pm. D3 will continue their road trip for one more week and travel to Missouri to play Saint Louis University at the Webster Groves Recreation Complex on Friday, 11/13 at 7:15 pm and Saturday, 11/14 at 2:30. We wish all of our teams good luck both on the road and at home. Go Redbirds!