After losing their first game at the American Collegiate Hockey Association Showcase in Ohio, the Icecats bounced back with 16 goals to win their next two.
The Icecats fell 5-4 to Mercyhurst College in the showcase opener on Friday morning. Arizona led 2-1 at the end of the first period but trailed 4-3 at the end of the second. Forward Andrew Murmes scored his second goal of the game with 3:28 left in the final period to tie the score. However, the Lakers answered with 1:42 left to take a permanent 5-4 lead.
Seven of the nine combined goals came on power plays. Sophomore Brian Slugocki scored Arizona’s other two goals and freshman goaltender Steven Sisler had 37 saves.
“”I thought we could have won but it was just one of those things,”” head coach Leo Golembiewski said. “”We were a little sloppy.””
On Saturday, the Icecats won their first game of the season 8-6 over Rutgers. They jumped out to a 3-2 lead after Murmes netted a pair of goals and freshman forward Eric Watters added another.
The Scarlet Knights took a 6-5 lead with 9:50 left in the third period, but two minutes later, sophomore forward Jared Lowell tied the game with his second goal of the day.
Then, junior defenseman Jonathan Watanabe gave the Icecats a 7-6 lead when he hit a goal with 1:51 remaining and with eight seconds left in the game, sophomore Scotty Willson added an empty net goal.
Sophomore David Herman registered 44 saves as the Icecats’ goaltender.
Yesterday, despite playing at 5 a.m. Tucson time, Arizona handily upset No. 19 West Chester 8-3.
“”We were on the ice at 4:30 body clock time and for the guys to come out like they did was really cool,”” Golembiewski said. “”We’ve been at the showcase three times and that was the first time we’ve won the Sunday morning game.””
The Icecats broke out to a 4-0 lead in the first period after two goals by senior forward Jordan Schupan and Murmes respectively. All four goals were on power plays.
“”West Chester was a pretty undisciplined team and went to the box quite a bit in the first period and we took advantage of it,”” Golembiewski said. “”They had five penalties in the first period and the guys jumped on that.””
Slugocki scored in the second period giving UA a 5-1 lead but wasn’t close to being finished. He scored three goals for a hat trick in the third period alone.
Murmes totaled seven points in the win with his two goals and five assists. Junior forward Blake Richards had three assists. Golembiewski said the game puck went to Sisler, who won his first game as an Icecat and had 41 saves.
“”The goaltending all weekend was solid,”” he said. “”Sisler played well and so did Herman.””
Golembiewski liked the way his team looked over the weekend. Arizona’s three losses have been by a combined four goals so he feels that with some progress the outcome would be different.
“”It was nice to see that resilience and we know we have a good club and could just as easily be 5-0, but we’re not,”” he said. “”We played well enough to beat Mercyhurst and even Arizona State.””
The team will take this week off for academics and rest and will return to the ice next week to prepare for its next game on Oct. 22 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
