Bloomington IL- The Redbirds return after a successful weekend trip against McKendree to take on Waldorf at home during the HOF Weekend.
On Friday, The Redbirds got an early lead when Parker Adams scored unassisted off the faceoff with only 37 seconds left in the period.
After the intermission, Joey Swiderski scores off the scrum created by a rebound from Noah Yancey giving the Redbirds a 2-0 lead. Waldorf would strike back on the powerplay after a checking from behind penalty by Noah Yancey. The Redbirds didn’t give up as Caleb Sauer kept the Warriors off the board heading into the 3rd.
The Redbirds were looking to end it as Sean Meyer puts the puck in the back of the net early in the 3rd from a pass from Tim Sloan giving the Birds the 3-1 lead. Waldorf wouldn’t go away and would score as the puck trickled past Sauer’s pads making it a 1 goal game. The Redbirds killed off a penalty late in the game to seal up the win in the Bloomington Ice Center 3-2. Starting goaltender Caleb Sauer grabs his first home win of the season stopping 30 of 32 shots faced.
On Saturday, The Redbirds hosted their HOF Game where Redbirds alumni were recognized and inducted into the Hall of Fame during the intermissions of the period. The game began with a ceremonial puck drop by Emil Ludy with both captains taking the draw.
The first period went by and both goalies on either side started the perfect with 0-0 on the board heading into the 2nd period.
The Redbirds were looking to put a goal on the board and the captain Trevor Hilt came through on the powerplay with a deflection in front of the net from a Mitchell Oberlag shot. Brendan Donovan kept up his performance stopping 12 shots in the 2nd period.
Entering the 3rd period, the Redbirds were looking for the win and Anthony Salemi comes up big time with a goal with a pass by Trevor Hilt, putting the Birds up 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go in the period. As the period came to an end, Waldorf pulled their goalie and Tony Campise scored an empty netter to complete the shutout 3-0 over the Warriors. Rookie Brendan Donovan stopped all 34 shots faced getting his first shutout of his collegiate career.
In summary, The Redbirds pick up two divisional wins at home against Waldorf with some great goaltending from Caleb Sauer and Brendan Donovan. Trevor Hilt continues to notch points as he adds 1G and 1A this weekend. The Redbirds prepare for the Midland Warriors the weekend of 11/5-11/6.