Welcome to the fifth entry to the Johnnie Hockey Blog. We had a very good weekend this past week sweeping Bethel. Our weekend started earlier than normal with a game on Thursday night, playing Bethel at the National Hockey Center. Our game was schedule for a Thursday due to the fact that both SCSU’s men and women’s teams were playing at home on the weekend. We recorded a win on our home ice with the score 7-3. What isn’t obvious on the scoresheet is that we gave up the first two goals in this game and found ourselves in a hole down 2–0 early. The boys responded and we were able to tie the game at 2-2 before the end of the first period with goals from #19 Tyler Dunagan and #23 Matt Colford. We then came out early in the second period and scored two goals in the first two minutes of play with #7 Andrew Commers and #28 Sam Valerius getting the goals. The game would continue with SJU dominating play and scoring three third-period goals, winning 7-3.
We then had Friday off before heading to the Schwan Super Rink on Saturday to play Bethel for the second game of the series. This game started very similar to the first with SJU giving up the first goal under three minutes into the game. As with the first game, the boys countered in the first period with three goals exiting the first period with a 3-1 lead. The second period was scoreless before SJU exploded in the third period to open up the game with four third-period goals to get the win, 7-1.
Some interesting facts on the weekend:
- SJU gave up the first goal in the last 3 games and still got the three wins. Before these three games it had been two years since this had happened.
- The last time SJU scored 14 or more goals on a weekend was in 2005-06 when they scored 19 goals against Concordia.
- SJU had 15 players record a point on the weekend.
- SJU outscored Bethel 7-0 in the third period through the two games.
The theme of the blog, and what I feel is going to make SJU successful through the final six regular-season games, is our depth. We had a great balance of scoring this past weekend and I am confident that we have four good lines that can all contribute in any game against any team. This was demonstrated throughout the weekend as we rolled four lines through the weekend, never feeling that any line was struggling.
Before this past weekend, we had not won a game where #10 Huba Sekesi or #19 Tyler Dunagan had not registered a point. The second night against Bethel, Huba went down with an injury early in the game and Tyler did not register a point. Our team was still able to produce seven goals in our 7-1 victory. This showed the coaching staff that any line has the ability to score at any time. I truly believe that our depth at forward can match up against any team in the country.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the incredible week/weekend that #17 Mitch Fritz had this past week. Earlier in the week, Mitch made national news for building a glowing igloo on the SJU campus. He then followed that up with a six-point weekend. Mitch had 1 goal and 2 assists the first game and 2 goals and 1 assist the second game. In reality he and his linemates, #28 Sam Valerius and #25 Dan Voce could have scored several more times with all of the opportunities they were creating. This line has been our most consistent line the past two weeks and they continue to develop and produce for the Johnnies.
A coach often times worries as to what might bring their hockey team into the national news. It could be a player getting into trouble, or a hazing incident that thrusts the team into the spotlight. I love the fact that because I am dealing with Johnnies and with such great young men, this week it’s a glowing igloo that makes this team unique! For a short time the igloo is still standing until mother-nature’s warmth brings her down. Great Job Mitch Fritz!
Reminder
Tommie/Johnnie Week!!
Friday, January 29th 7pm National Hockey Center
Saturday, January 30th 7pm St. Thomas Ice Arena
Igloo Story Links:
