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Printer-Friendly ModeHockey splits weekend
December 3, 2007 —
A loss against Hope College Friday night was followed by an overtime win against Northwood on Saturday night.
Friday night's game against Hope was not how the Cardinals had wanted to finish. Saginaw's nine penalties led to two Hope power-play goals, and a third costing them the game with a final score of 2-3.
The Cardinals started out the game with good play between linemates, but aggression between the teams sent them to the box throughout almost the whole game.
Hope's first goal, scored at 11:30 in the first period, was a three-on-five power-play goal by Guerrin. The goal was let up after senior defenseman Tom Lagocki was sent to the box for interference as junior forward Doug Greene joined him for the same, giving the Flying Dutchman the three-on-five advantage.
The Cardinals had trouble keeping the puck out of their own zone through the rest of the first period, but their defense managed to keep it away from the net.
After the first period, the Cardinals' offense shaped up as Saginaw joined Hope on the scoreboard.
With an assist from junior forward Matt Fogal, sophomore defenseman Pat Miller slipped the puck up and over the goalie's left shoulder giving Saginaw its first goal of the game 7:52 into the second period.
Greene's third penalty of the game and senior forward Nate Engstrom's hooking penalty led to another three on five power-play goal for the Flying Dutchmen, padding what became a two goal lead.
Miller scored Saginaw's second and final goal of the game 9:51 into the third period. As the goal was scored, Hope's aggression sent the Cardinals' Greene to the bench with an injury. This led to another Flying Dutchmen penalty, giving the Cardinals a five-on-three advantage; however they were unable to capitalize on the two man advantage.
The Cardinals' fortunes turned for the better on Saturday night when they traveled to Northwood to take on the Timberwolves. Northwood started out the game with a goal, but freshman defenseman Kaleb Grapp brought the Cardinals back and tied the score 1-1 assisted by freshman forward Alex Lajoie and sophomore forward Jon Tibaudo.
Both teams shared equal time in the box through the rest of the game kept the score tied, leading the game into overtime. With 1:17 left in overtime, Grapp scored his second goal of the game assisted by Tibaudo and Fogal, breaking the tie.
The win against Northwood at Midland Civic Arena kept the Cardinals in first place in the North with 24 points against Hope College's 21. Next Saturday Saginaw will travel to GVSU to play the Lakers.