The Razorbacks (9-0-0) swept a three-game Nashville road trip to maintain their undefeated record this past weekend. Game one on Friday night against Vanderbilt (1-2-0) would be a slow start for the Ice Hogs, as Vandy would score the first goal, before Dakota Gottlieb tied the game at 1 to end the first period. The Razorbacks came out firing after the intermission and rattled off six goals in the second period and six goals in the third period to take Friday’s game 13-1. Gottlieb would add his second goal of the game while Evan Kerr and Brendan Bomay would get two goals each. Chris Stovall, Dylan Odelein, Jordan Deskeere, Griffin Sugasawara, Michael Ellis, Shaun Foster, and Collin O’Mahoney would all notch one goal, with O’Mahoney getting his first as a Razorback. Jozef Dusenka stopped 29 of 30 shots to collect his fourth win of the season.
The Ice Hogs were back Saturday night to face-off against Middle Tennessee State University (1-6-0) in the second game of the weekend. Arkansas wasted no time, scoring six goals in the first period. Alex Kueser, Zach Riley, Nick Valentini, Cameron McAtee, Dakota Gottlieb, and Grant Deacon all scored goals in the first. Alex Kueser got his second of the game to start the second period, and Jake Sharrer would get his first goal of the season to boost the Razorback lead to 8-0 going into the final period. MTSU would put a damper on the Hogs shutout hopes with a power play goal early in the third. Arkansas bounced back, with Grant Fletcher getting his first goal as a Razorback and Michael Eliis pushing the Hogs into double digits, putting the finishing touches on a 10-1 victory. In his first start as a Razorback, freshman goalie Bobby Rea earned his first win, stopping 15 of 16 shots.
Arkansas finished off the weekend with a Sunday matinee against Vanderbilt. Both teams traded one goal each in the first period, with Tyler Valdron scoring the Hogs’ first goal of the game. Griffin Sugasawara and Trevor McLain scored early in the second period to give the Razorbacks a 3-1 lead before Vanderbilt rebounded with two goals of their own to tie the game. The Razorbacks stormed back to score three goals in just 2:12. Collin O’Mahoney and Chris Stovall scored and McLain got his second of the game to give Arkansas a 6-3 lead entering the third period. The final period was a scoreless stalemate, giving the Ice Hogs a 6-3 victory and the 3-game sweep on the weekend. Alex Kalmes saved 19 of 22 shots to collect his fourth win of the season.
The Ice Hogs are off this weekend for the first time this season. The Razorbacks recorded 29 goals in 3 games this weekend, and just nine games into the season, 22 different players have scored for the Razorbacks. Following the bye week, the Razorbacks will return to The Jones Center on Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th for two games against rival Missouri State (2-0-0).
The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference. The 2019-20 season will be the team’s thirteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be found here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.
