This weekend, the Division III Razorback Hockey team (#5 Pacific Region, 22-6-0 overall) heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, to participate in the Pacific Regional Tournament. The win or go home format, which we explain in more detail here, features a rematch between the Hogs and #8 Kansas Jayhawks (20-6-1 overall) on Friday at 4:00 PM CST at the Breslow Ice Center (433 V St. Lincoln, NE 68508).  In order to advance to the Division III National Tournament, Arkansas must defeat Kansas and then win again on Saturday.

Arkansas and Kansas have met five times this season, including one game to open the season in the Pacific Region Showcase. Although Kansas holds a 3-2 series edge, the Hogs have outscored Kansas 19-17 in their five total meetings.  The two teams met most recently last November when the Hogs took game one by a 5-1 score but dropped the second game of the weekend series by a 4-3 margin.  That loss, back on November 18, marks the last time the Division III Hogs lost a game.

Arkansas enters the contest riding a nine game winning streak and playing some of their best hockey, having recently swept the SECHC Conference Playoffs by defeating Vanderbilt, Kentucky (Division II), and Florida.  The Hogs outscored their SECHC foes by a cumulative total of 15-4.

The Razorbacks will be one of the eight teams competing in the regional this weekend for two available spots to go to the Division III National Tournament. The other teams competing in the Pacific Regional are: the University of Nebraska, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, the University of Northern Arizona, Colorado Mesa University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Should the Hogs defeat the Jayhawks, Arkansas would play again on Saturday the 24^th at either 2:00 PM or 5:00 PM.

Live streaming links for the Arkansas game(s) will be posted on all of the program’s social media pages closer to face-off times.

This weekend, the Division I Ice Hogs will take on the #3 ranked Lindenwood Lions in their final two games of the season. The Hogs will play Lindenwood on Friday, February 16^th at 7:30 PM and Saturday, February 17^th at 4:30 PM at the Jones Center in Springdale. The Hogs enter the weekend having dropped a competitive 2-1 contest to Illinois State on Senior night last Saturday.  Meanwhile, Lindenwood comes in having split a pair of games on the road against Robert Morris University (Ill.). The Hogs are 0-2 all time against Lindenwood.

On Friday before the game, join us as we honor our Division III team, which won the SECHC Conference Playoff tournament last weekend.  Both games will be broadcast on YouTube thanks to our friends over at Drop the Gloves Radio. Be on the lookout for a link on the team’s Facebook page closer to game time.

FANS: After the game come out to Black Apple Crossing (321 E Emma Ave, Springdale, AR 72764) from 8-9 and meet the Hogs. Black Apple is just right down the road from the Jones Center. Black Apple is an all ages venue, so fans of all ages are welcome. Come celebrate the end of another Division I season!

The Division III Razorbacks are prepping for Regionals after bringing home the SECHC Championship in Nashville this past weekend. While there, the Ice Hogs faced Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Florida.

For their first game of the tournament, the Razorbacks met Vanderbilt on Friday night. According to Coach McDowell, the Hogs “had a slow start to the game against Vanderbilt. We have a young team and we were probably looking ahead to our second round matchup against Kentucky.”

Vandy took a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period. But, led by the captains, the team rallied and scored two goals in the second (from Grand Deacon and Captain Andrew DeNome), outshooting Vandy 19-3. Then, in the third period, Vandy made a strong push and Arkansas had to kill off 4 penalties in the final frame. The third period was led by their goaltender Dalton Baker who played very strong. Late in the period, Drew Hill buried a breakaway to tally an insurance marker for the Hogs who went on to win 3-1.

The Team then met Kentucky in the semi-finals on Saturday, February 10^th.  Coach McDowell says the Razorbacks “knew they were in for a fight with their 2nd round opponent Kentucky, who was 20-7 at the Division 2 level this season.” But the Hogs did not back down. They “came out swinging” and put up three goals in the first frame. They played stout defense led by Freshman Tyler Valdron (who also scored), Alex Kueser (who also had a goal) and Freshman Goalie Jozef Dusenka.

The Wildcats made it a game by scoring early in the second period on the power play. But Matt Lasky was able to bring the lead back up to 3 again late in the 2nd period with his first of two goals in the game.

In the third period, Arkansas did not let Kentucky back into the game. They finished strong with 3 goals from Senior Trey Lowry, Freshman Grant Deacon, and Junior Matt Lasky. The Hogs made it on to the finals to face-off against the Florida Gators.

On Sunday, February 11^th, the Hogs finally made it to the Championship game, allowing them to reach one of their major goals on the season. They had to face long time SEC Finals Rival, the Florida Gators. Arkansas battled hard and had to deal with a 2 minute 5-3 penalty kill in the first period.

Shortly after their strong penalty kill, the Hogs lit the lamp for the first time in the game. Evan Kerr was able to bury a great pass from long-time lineman Trey Lowry to put the Hogs up 1-0. The Hogs would later add a second goal from the stick of Drew Hill. After 20 minutes, the Hogs were up 2-0.

Less than a minute into the second period, Florida scored their first goal. However, Evan Kerr buried his second goal of the night and was able to put the Hogs back up on top 3-1. After a back in forth period that included of a disallowed goal on the shoulders of Alex Kueser the Hogs kept fighting. Less than a minute remaining in the period, Alex Kueser made an incredible play—dangling the Florida defender by putting the puck between his legs—and ripping a shot to the top left corner to extend the lead to 4-1.

In the final frame, the Hogs battled through 3 penalties including a five-minute major by Jacob Yaseen. The PK shut the door and didn’t allow Florida to cash in on any opportunities. Later that period, Matt Lasky scored his 3rd goal of the tournament to help Arkansas win the SECHC Championship game 5-1 over Florida.

This is the Division III Team’s 6th SECHC Championship in the last 9 seasons, and 1st since the 2014-2015 season.

Additionally, during the 2017-18 SECHC Awards Ceremony, the Razorbacks took home four awards: Third Team All-SEC Alex Kueser and Sky Chambers; Second Team All-SEC Trey Lowry; and First Team All-SEC Jozef Dusenka.

The Hogs are awaiting the Regional Ranking to see who they will face in the first round of the Pacific Regional Tournament on February 23-24th.

 

 

Razorback Hockey is looking forward to an exciting weekend as Division I takes on Illinois State in Springdale and Division III competes for the SEC Championship.

The DIII Hogs, five-time SEC Playoff Champions, are looking to reclaim the title at the SECHC Playoffs in Nashville, TN.  On Friday, the Ice Hogs (#2) will meet Vanderbilt Hockey (#7) at 8:00 pm CT.  The winner of the opener will move on to the Semi-Final, scheduled for February 10 at 5:00 pm CT.  The Championship Game will be on Sunday at 2:30 pm.  To keep up with the Razorbacks as they battle it out in Tennessee, follow @SECHChockey and @PenaltyBoxRadio on Twitter.

DIII Head Coach Justin McDowell is very optimistic about the Team’s likelihood of success.  He said, “we are very excited about this tournament. It has been our season goal all year long. Now that we are here, we are just going to take it one game at a time.”

Division I will be at home February 9-10 against the Illinois State Redbirds.  The two teams met back in September 2017 in Redbirds’ territory, but the Ice Hogs pulled out two exciting wins.   They will meet again, this time at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale, on Friday, February 9 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 10 at 4:30 pm.

Saturday’s game will be Senior Day to honor our five outstanding Division I seniors: Jacob Brown (#9); Jesse Foskey (#28); James Haddock (#25); Landyn Howze (#12); and Matt Robinson (#77).  Come out and help us thank them!

 

This weekend the Division I Razorbacks return home for the first time in the second semester by hosting Division II McKendree University Bearcats.  The Bears will enter the weekend with a record of 18-4-0 and are ranked #1 in the Division II Central Region.  The two teams have not met since January of 2015 when both programs were Division III Pacific Region rivals.  Puck drop is set for Friday, January 26 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, January 27 at 4:30 PM at the Jones Center in Springdale. Keep an eye on the team’s Facebook Page closer to game time for a link to the game’s broadcast, brought to you by Drop the Gloves Radio.

The Division III Hogs open the second semester of play last weekend against the Creighton Bluejays.  Entering the weekend, the Division III Razorbacks were ranked #9 in the Pacific Region while the Bluejays entered as #10.  Arkansas put some distance between itself in both nights–notching 9-1 and 7-3 wins to earn the series sweep.  Saturday was Senior Night where the program recognized the Division III roster’s four seniors — #6 Andrew DeNome, #23 Matt Tallo, #71 Sky Chambers, and #32 Trey Lowry.

This weekend, the Division III Razorbacks travel to Olive Branch, Mississippi to take on SEC rival Ole Miss. The two teams have hooked up once before this season–all the way back in September when Arkansas earned a 5-1 victory.  Puck drop is set for Friday, January 26 at 9:30 PM and Saturday, January 27 at 4:15 PM.  Follow the team’s social media pages for score updates.

On January 18, 2017, the University of Arkansas Men’s Division I hockey team (8-16-1) rings in the New Year against the Colorado State Rams (7-14-2).  Arkansas has not played for over a month, having closed down the first semester in early December against Missouri State.  For its part, Colorado State has likewise been off, having not played since dropping a pair of contests against UNLV early in December of 2017.

These two teams last hooked up when Arkansas hosted the Rams on October 6-7.  The exciting back and forth series featured a 2-1 overtime shootout win for the Hogs in night one followed by a 3-2 regulation win for Arkansas in the second game.  The puck drops on Thursday, January 18, at 9:30 pm CST and fans can watch the game live at game time here.

When the game ends, the Razorbacks will travel to Boulder roughly an hour away to settle in for a pair of games against the #7 Colorado Buffaloes (16-5-1).  The Razorbacks’ lone meeting against Colorado came on a Thursday night back in Springdale when, on October 5, the Buffs handed the Hogs a 6-1 loss.  Game times for the series are 8:30 pm CST on Friday, January 19, and 8:30 pm CST on Saturday, January 20.

Back in Springdale, the Division III Razorbacks take on a first-time visitor to the Jones Center–the Creighton Bluejays.  Having not played since November 18, 2017, Arkansas enters the critical series ranked #9 in the Pacific Region and sporting a 13-6-0 overall record.  By comparison, Creighton enters with a 10-6-1 record and is ranked #!0 in the Pacific Region.  The puck drops on Friday, January 19, at 9:15 pm and on Saturday, January 20, at 4:00 pm.

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey program concluded play earlier this month, closing down an improved first semester of play that saw the Division I team play 22 games against ranked opponents.  After a strong start that included a Division I team sweep of Illinois State for the first time in program history, the Hogs struggled to consistently turn in sixty minute performances.  The Division I team would lose leads late in games several times on the road, including to Alabama on September 23, Oklahoma on September 28, Arizona State on October 12, and Arizona State on October 14.  Losing leads late in games was also a problem at home; Arkansas lost two-goal leads to both Oklahoma and Missouri State at home.

But despite the semester’s challenges, the young DI Razorback squad saw numerous positive–and historic–moments during the fall semester.  Notably, the DI Hogs turned in three sweeps:  first against Illinois State and then a first-ever conference sweep of Colorado State followed by a home sweep of arch-rival Alabama.  For perspective, the 16-17 Division I squad was unable to sweep any other Division I opponent.  The first semester also included a first-ever win over Oklahoma on home ice and an overtime thriller against conference-rival Missouri State to close out the first semester.

The second semester includes eleven more games, six of which will take place in the friendly confines of a packed Jones Center. After a three game swing through Colorado to start the second semester, Arkansas returns home to take on Division II McKendree and closes the regular season with four consecutive home games–two against Illinois State and two against Lindenwood. The season’s second half kicks off on January 18 in Ft. Collins against conference-rival Colorado State.

For its part, the Division III Hogs finished the semester with an overall 13-6-0 record. First semester highlights for the DIII squad included sweeps of Robert Morris-Peoria, Missouri State, Mississippi State, and Dordt.  Division III resumes play at home on January 19 against first-time opponent Creighton University.  The DIII Hogs will play six total remaining regular season games before traveling to Nashville, Tennessee, for the SECHC Conference Playoffs on February 9-11.

This weekend the Division I Razorbacks close out the first semester by hosting #19 Missouri State.  The Bears will enter the weekend with a record of 13-11-2, as the Hogs come in with a record of 7-15-1.  The teams have met eight times in their Division I era with the Bears holding a 5-3 edge over the Hogs. The Razorbacks are 2-2 when playing the Bears at the Jones Center. Puck drop is set for Friday, December 2 at 7:30 PM and Saturday December 3 at 4:30 PM at the Jones Center in Springdale. Keep an eye on the team’s Facebook Page closer to game time for a link to the game’s broadcast, brought to you by Drop the Gloves Radio.

The Division III Hogs concluded their semester on the road facing the #8 Kansas Jayhawks earlier this month.  On November 17, the Hogs and Jayhawks faced off in the first of a two games set. In the first period, the Razorbacks got on the board first thanks to an unassisted goal by Evan Kerr. In the second period, the Jayhawks answered with a goal of their own. With under five minutes left in the second, Evan Kerr again scored an unassisted goal to give the Hogs the lead. In the first seventeen minutes of the third period both teams were held scoreless. With under three minutes left in the third, rookie Grant Deacon scored for the Hogs and then, just nineteen seconds later, Evan Kerr scored again.  Then, fewer than thirty seconds later, the Hogs would score again on a goal from Matt Lasky en route to a 5-1 win.

In Saturday’s rematch, the Hogs got on the board first thanks to a goal by senior Trey Lowry.  The Jayhawks struck back with two goals to take 2-1 lead entering the second period.  In the second, the Jayhawks scored two more to build on their lead of the Hogs.  About halfway through the second, Evan Kerr scored for the Hogs–his fourth on the weekend. The Razorbacks trailed 4-2 entering the third period but a goal from rookie Grant Deacon cut the deficit to one goal.  That was where things finished, however, and Arkansas dropped game two by a final score of 4-3.  The Division III Razorbacks return to action in the spring semester.

It was a great weekend for both the Division I and Division III Razorbacks as both teams earned sweeps.  The Division I Hogs hosted the #18 Frozen Tide from the University of Alabama this past weekend at the Jones Center. The Hogs came into the weekend looking to avenge a regulation and shootout losses to the Tide earlier this season.

On Friday the Hogs struck first thanks to a goal from the team’s leading scorer, Luc Gradisar.  In the second period, the Tide struck back to knot the game at 1-1. Seven minutes into the third, the Hogs took pulled ahead thanks to a goal from Cory Delisle. During the last minute of the game, Arkansas took an ill-timed penalty and the Tide pulled their goalie to give them a 6-on-4 advantage, but it was not enough and the Hogs held on to win.

Saturday’s contest was also close.  Fewer than four minutes into the first period, the Razorbacks struck first on a goal from senior captain James Haddock. Three minutes later, the Tide answered with a goal of their own but the Razorbacks would go on to score two more goals in the last three minutes of the first period. After the teams traded a pair of goals in the second period, the Hogs led the Tide 5-3 entering the third period. But three minutes into the third period, the Tide cut the Hogs lead to one.  The teams traded another goal apiece and Arkansas earned a 6-5 victory. The win marked the Division I team’s third win in a row and again kept Alabama from winning in Springdale.

For their part, the Division III Ice Hogs traveled to Sioux City, Iowa to tangle with Pacific Region foe Dordt College. After a scoreless first period in Friday’s contest, the Hogs struck in the second period on a goal from Trey Lowry.  Although Dordt would tie the game 1-1 eight minutes later, Arkansas then reeled off three unanswered goals to make it 4-1 halfway through the third period.  Dordt would score the final goal of the game as the Hogs went on to win 4-2.  Saturday’s affair was less competitive.  Although Dordt struck first, the Razorbacks would respond with a total of five unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 win and weekend sweep of the Blades.

This weekend, the Division I Razorbacks continue their home stand as they play host to WCHL conference rivals #14 University of Arizona and Arizona State.  On Thursday at 8:30 pm, the Hogs will host the Wildcats at the Jones Center looking to avenge two close losses earlier in the season in Arizona.  Arizona enters the weekend riding a four game win streak having just swept Utah.

Then, on Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 4:30 pm the Hogs play host to Arizona State.  The Razorbacks will be looking for their first ever win against the Devils.  All three games will be broadcast on YouTube courtesy of Drop the Gloves Radio.  Be on the lookout for a link to the games posted on the team’s Facebook page shortly before face-off.

The #3 Division III Hogs get back on the Road this weekend as they take on the #5 Jayhawks from Kansas. These teams have met three times this season with the Jayhawks winning two of the three games. The Hogs currently hold a 5-6 record all time against the Jay Hawks. They Jayhawks enter the weekend having won five out of their last six games while the Hogs are riding a four game win streak after sweeping their past two opponents. Puck drop is set for 7:40 PM Friday and 2:10 PM Saturday in Independence, MO.

This past weekend, the DI squad played host to defending National Champion and #4 ranked Bronchos of Central Oklahoma, as well as the #21 Oklahoma.  Thursday was a competitive affair.  With eight minutes to play in the third period, the Hogs trailed 2-1.  A defensive breakdown allowed the Bronchos to capitalize and make the score 3-1.  Just one minute later, UCO potted a fourth and went on to to win 4-1.

The close loss foretold good things for the weekend.  On Friday, the Hogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead entering the third period.  Arkansas had difficulty withstanding the Sooners’ surge; fewer than five minutes into the third period the Sooners scored two goals to tie the game.  With under ten minutes to play, OU went to the power play on a controversial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and capitalized late in the power play.  That goal proved to be the difference-maker and the Sooners notched a 3-2 victory.

The Razorbacks evened things up with Oklahoma on Saturday.  Although Oklahoma scored first and took a 2-1 lead into the lockerroom after the first frame, Arkansas potted a pair of unanswered goals in the second period and led 3-2 entering the third period. During an eventful third period, Arkansas would never trail.  After scoring its fourth goal, the Razorbacks led 4-2.  The final five minutes saw the teams combine for three goals–an empty-netter from Arkansas, a power-play marker from Oklahoma, and an additional even-strength goal for Oklahoma en route to a 5-4 Arkansas win.

The DI Razorbacks return home to face arch-rival #18 University of Alabama.  The Tide are the only other SEC school that field a Division 1 team. Since moving to the Division I level, the Hogs own a 3-1-1 series edge over Alabama.  The Hogs lone stumbles against the Tide came earlier this season when Arkansas traveled to Alabama.  After dropping game one by a score of 5-2, the teams battled to a 2-2 stalemate that produced a shootout win for Alabama.

The Tide have not lost since that weekend and enter the weekend on a six-game winning streak sporting an overall record of 7-1-0.  Both games will take place at the Jones Center in Springdale. Friday night’s puck drop is set for 7:30 PM while Saturday’s matinee tilt starts at 12:30 PM.  Both games will be televised by Drop the Gloves Radio.  Be on the lookout for a link to the games on the team’s Facebook page closer to game time.

Meanwhile, the Division III Razorbacks travel to Sioux City, IA to face Dordt College this weekend.  Dordt enters the weekend with an overall 2-9 record, while the Razorbacks come in at 10-5 overall.  These teams have met four times previously and the Hogs own a lifetime record of 3-0-1.  The Division III Razorbacks enter the series having won five out of their last six games.  Puck drop for Friday is set for 7:30 PM while puck drop on Saturday is set for 1:15 PM at Dordt.