For the season opening series, the men’s hockey team hit the road, travelling to face the Eastern Washington University Eagles (EWU) in back to back games. The Clan were able to achieve a win on Friday night, but not on Saturday, losing out on a chance to shoot to the top of the league.
In Friday night’s game, the Clan got off to an early start, as Jesse Mysiorek and Jono Ceci made it 2-0 on a powerplay. However, the Eagles scored at the 7:07 mark of the first to cut the lead down to only one.
The second period was marked by a goal from Jesse Williamson, while the third period featured a goal from Nick Sandor, and a clean period of play with no penalties to either team. Jono Ceci was named the first star of the game, with a goal and two assists. The final score was 4-1 SFU.
Saturday night’s game was a different story entirely. This time, it was the Eastern Washington Eagles who got off to a quick 2-0 lead. The Clan managed to get to within one with a goal from Jared Eng, but the Eagles scored on a powerplay a few minutes later to restore the two goal lead.
Nick Sandor made it 3-2 in the second period, but due to a lack of Clan discipline, the Eagles were given a powerplay opportunity which they did not squander, bringing the score to 4-2.
The third period ended in a flurry of penalties. SFU’s Jesse Mysiorek and Tanner Hawes of Eastern Washington were both given 12 minutes in penalties: 10 minutes for game misconduct and two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Eagles added an empty net goal after the fact to make the final score 5-2 Eastern Washington.
Head Coach Mark Coletta, was pleased with how the team played over the weekend, however. “I thought we played really well,” he told The Peak in a phone interview. “We deserved to win both [games]. We just couldn’t score in the second game.”
Going forward, Coletta said, “We know we have a strong lineup. We can’t take games for granted like we did Saturday, we have to go into every game with the right mindset.”
The men’s hockey team will open at home on Friday, October 10 at Bill Copeland Sports Complex against Selkirk College.
