With the No. 14 Arizona club hockey team on a four-game losing streak, they turned the ship around this weekend against Weber State.
Arizona’s Icecats (9-6) beat the Wildcats (2-9-2) twice this weekend, with a 4-2 win on Saturday and a 7-4 come-from-behind victory on Friday at the Tucson Convention Center.
Saturday’s game was keyed by stellar play from junior goalie Luke Edwall, who had 29 saves on 31 shots in a turnaround game for him after shaky play against Liberty two weeks ago.
“”The star of the game was Edwall,”” said Icecat coach Leo Golembiewski. “”He really re-established himself as the goalie tonight.””
Sophomore right wing John Hansen led the offensive attack for the Icecats with two goals as part of a 3-0 Icecat lead after the first period Saturday.
Sophomore left wing Robbie Nowinski picked up a goal to bring his seven-game scoreless streak to an end.
Weber State played physically and capitalized with two goals in the second, but the Icecats shut the door in the third, capped off with an empty net goal by sophomore center Matt Conover.
Friday night’s game was a game of patience and heart for the Icecats after falling behind 4-1 midway through the second period.
But sophomore center Cody Morin notched two goals late in the second period that gave the Icecats momentum for a four-goal third period and the 7-4 win.
“”We started off really slow, but with that fourth goal in the third we saw a change in the pace of the game, and we took advantage of that,”” said senior right wing Bryan Meagher, who opened the scoring in the third.
Junior right wing Scott Marshall had a four-point Friday night with two goals and two assists.
“”We made some dumb mistakes in the first two periods,”” Marshall said, “”but in the third we calmed everything down and went out there and set up.””
Overall it was a different attitude that helped the Icecats end their losing streak.
“”You gotta play with a sense of urgency,”” Golembiewski said. “”We took Liberty lightly (two weeks ago), and you can’t take opponents lightly.
“”Hockey is 75 percent mental, and we came mentally prepared for Weber State.””
Icing
Sophomore center Brandon Robinson scored his first goal as an Icecat with 1:09 left in the third Friday to wrap up a solid 15 minutes of hockey.
