#4 Razorbacks Close Out Fall Semester with Sweep of Missouri

Photo credits to @_baumology_

The #4 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks made the trip up to Missouri this past weekend, to take on division-rivals Missouri Tigers. Arkansas opened the scoring with a power play goal from assistant captain Jake Sharrer. Zach Wilson would double the Hog lead with 30 seconds remaining in the 1st period, finishing off a perfect feed from Brad Estrada. Both Griffin Sugasawara and Jacob Heuerman got in on the scoring in the first five minutes of the 2nd period, giving Arkansas the 4-0 lead. Missouri would answer shortly after, cutting into the lead with a goal of their own. Arkansas would run away with the game thanks to a flurry of goals from Estrada, Cameron McAtee, and Kyle Crews. Mizzou scored two goals early in the 3rd period, followed by three-straight goals from McAtee. Arkansas skated to a 10-4 win and goalie Jozef Dusenka took home the win.

Saturday’s game saw Missouri come out with the only goal of a hard-fought 1st period. Assistant captain Zach Wilson got Arkansas on the board in the 2nd period, followed by Cameron McAtee and Kyle Crews goals. Wilson would add another 15 seconds into the 3rd period, giving Arkansas the 4-1 lead early in the final frame. Mizzou capitalized on special teams midway through the 3rd period, tying the game at 4. However, the Hogs turned it on in the final 11 minutes, scoring 4 goals to finish off the sweep of rival Missouri. McAtee, Griffin Sugasawara, Nick Valentini, and Kyle Patterson all scored 3rd period goals. Grady Reis came away with the win in net.

Arkansas is off for the holiday break, but will return January 21st and 22nd at home against Dallas Baptist University. Arkansas then heads just up the road to Missouri State the following weekend, before finishing off the regular season with senior weekend against Kansas on February 4th and 5th. The MACHA tournament will take place February 11th-13th, and the ACHA National Tournament will be held March 10th-15th. Both tournaments will be hosted by Maryville University at the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, MO.

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2021-22 season will be the team’s fifteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be viewed here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale, AR.

#8 Arkansas enters Thanksgiving break at 17-2

Your Razorbacks finished the month of November with an 8-0 record following their run at the Route 66 Showcase, sweeps of MACHA rivals Nebraska and Kansas, and a season sweep of division opponent North Texas this past Sunday. These performances helped the Hogs jump 12 spots to #8 in the ACHA national rankings in the most recent release on November 19th.

The Hogs began the month of November in Springfield, MO looking to defend their crown as reining 2019 Route 66 Champions. The showcase was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19. The Hogs started the showcase with their first ever meeting against Butler University. Following a 0-0 draw in the first period, the floodgates would open, seeing Arkansas net seven on their way to a 7-1 victory.

Next was a match up with unbeaten #11 University of New Mexico. Arkansas was able to jump out to an early lead, and withstand some third period penalty trouble to outlast New Mexico 3-2 in a physical and tightly contested game. Sundays final game saw both remaining undefeated teams in the tournament square off to decide who would leave with championship trophy. Arkansas utilized a fast start to put #12 Miami (OH) on their heels early, netting 4 goals in the first period. Arkansas rarely looked out of control throughout, winning 5-1, and successfully defending their title as tournament champions.

Arkansas would return home with the goal of starting another home winning streak after their near three year home unbeaten streak was snapped by Missouri State in their final game of October. The weekend would mark a showdown of MACHA division leaders as the South leading Razorbacks faced off against the North leading Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arkansas picked up where they left off in Missouri, with a physical and hard fought, 4-1 win on Friday night. The Razorbacks controlled the pace of the game, keeping play in the Cornhusker end, ultimately outshooting the opposition 43-11.

The Saturday match up between both teams would be a much more back and forth affair. After trading goals in the first period (2-2), second period (3-3), and third period (4-4), Senior Captain Zach Wilson found the back of the net on the power-play with just 14 seconds remaining in the game to give the Hogs the 5-4 victory and weekend sweep of Nebraska.

This past weekend Arkansas traveled to Independence, MO to face off with long time rival University of Kansas. While Arkansas has owned the series of late, as always these games did not disappoint, as teams traded goals early and often throughout the weekend. Arkansas would secure a 6-3 win on Friday night and a 9-6 win on Saturday afternoon to complete the sweep.

Arkansas returned home for a Sunday afternoon matinee match up with division foe North Texas, and a focus on improving their defensive play after allowing 9 goals to Kansas on the weekend. Not only did the Hogs improve their defensive play, their offense exploded for 19 goals in the game, winning 19-1 to complete the season sweep of North Texas.

Following the Thanksgiving break, Arkansas will return for their final games of the semester, traveling to South Division rival Mizzou on December 3rd and 4th. This will mark the first meetings between the two programs as MACHA opponents since Arkansas’ move from the SECHC last season. Arkansas is currently 4-0 in South Division play while Missouri enters the weekend at 3-3 in division games. The winner of each of the four divisions in MACHA play will earn a spot in the conference tournament held in St. Louis, MO in February.

Game location @ University of Missouri: 711 Kansas St, Jefferson City, MO 65109

Friday Dec. 3rd: 7:15 pm puck drop

Saturday Dec 4th: 6:00 pm puck drop

Arkansas Heads Into Bye at 8-1 Following Sweep of Iowa State

Following a 3-0 weekend in Dallas, and a home sweep of Iowa State, the Ice Hogs enter their first weekend off of the season 8-1 overall.

Arkansas took care of business in their first South Divison games of the season, taking two games from Dallas Baptist and one from North Texas during a three game weekend in Texas.

Friday saw the hogs battle back from an early one goal deficit to win the weekend opener 6-2 against DBU. Sophomore Sam Haynes recorded the win in net, stopping 20 of 22 shots. Six different Razorbacks recorded goals (Heuerman, Wilson, Sugasawara, Sharrer, LaPlante, and Patterson).

The Razorbacks found themselves trailing again early Saturday after a slow start, before netting five unanswered to find the win column with a 5-2 victory in the series finale against DBU. Freshman Grady Reis earned the win in net, also stopping 20 of 22 shots. Junior Brad Estrada found the back of the net twice, with Wilson, Romero, and Elliott all joining him in the score column.

Sunday was a much more one sided match up between the Razorbacks and Mean Green of UNT. The Hogs outshot their opponent 85-19 on their way to a 9-1 win in their final game of the weekend. Freshmen goaltender Noah Goodwin earned his first win in his first career start, stopping 18 of 19 shots, earning the Hog Hat honors for hardest working player in the game.

This past weekend your Razorbacks returned to the friendly confines of The Jones Center for a home series against Iowa State. On Friday, junior Michael Ellis drew first blood, scoring with 3:11 remaining in the first frame. The hogs would build on their lead in the second with goals from senior Cameron McAtee and sophomore Kyle Crews. The hogs would net one more goal when Freshman Jacob Heuerman found the net in a penalty filled third period.

Special teams shined for the Razorbacks who killed off 8 penalties, including two 5 on 3 opportunities, on their way to a 4-0 victory. Senior Assistant Captain Cameron McAtee factored into all four goals with one goal and three assists. Senior Jozef Dusenka earned the shutout in his first home start of the season.

Saturday saw the Hogs dominate in a physical affair, filling the Iowa State net with three goals in the first period (Valentini, Wilson, Estrada). Senior Jacob Sharrer would score the lone goal of the second for the hogs, before another three goal explosion in the final frame (Wilson x2, Yaseen). Senior Captain Zach Wilson recorded a hat trick on the night. Sophomore goalie Sam Haynes earned the win, stopping 23 of 25 shots on the night.

Arkansas is off this weekend before a home series against historic rival Missouri State.

Arkansas Travels to Dallas, Begins MACHA Play

Arkansas Travels to Dallas, Begins MACHA Play

This weekend Arkansas travels to Dallas to begin MACHA South Division play with a two game set against Dallas Baptist University, followed by a Sunday matinee game with The University of North Texas. This will mark the first weekend of conference play for the Hogs as members of the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA) since leaving the SEC in 2020. This season also marks the first season in the MACHA for both DBU and UNT following their move from Division II before the shortened 2020-21 season.

Dallas Baptist is coming off an appearance in the National Tournament last season. This year DBU is 1-3 following a weekend sweep at the hands of New Mexico and split with fellow South Division member Mizzou. The hogs took all 6 games from DBU last year, including their match up in pool play of the National Tournament.

UNT is 1-1 on the season following a win and overtime loss against DII Texas State at home last weekend. The Mean Green did not participate in the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Arkansas and UNT have not met since the 2018-19 season, where the Hogs swept their home two game series by a combined score of 28-2.

This marks an important weekend for the Razorbacks, who enter the weekend 3-1, as the winner of the South Division will receive and auto-bid to the MACHA Conference Championship in St. Louis. The Hogs could use your support in Dallas this weekend as they look to continue with footballs trend of owning the state of Texas!

Game times and locations:

Friday 10/1: 8:45pm puck drop- Valley Ranch Stars Center

Saturday 10/2: 7:30pm puck drop- Valley Ranch Stars Center

Sunday 10/3: 12:30pm puck drop- Euless Stars Center

Arkansas and Oklahoma Split Weekend Series in OKC

This past weekend your Hogs traveled to Oklahoma City for their first road trip of the season for a two game set against DI University of Oklahoma. Arkansas entered the game 2-0 following last weekends sweep of ETBU at home. The series would be Oklahoma’s first games and home opening weekend.

The hogs pushed the pace of play from the opening drop of the puck on Friday night. Senior Griffin Sugasawara netted the opening goal on the power play at 10:55 in the first period on assists from defensemen Cameron McAtee and Kevin LaPlante. The Sooners would answer with a shorthanded goal from Marshall Rushing with 1:47 remaining in the frame, and the first period would end in a 1-1 tie.

The Hogs wasted no time regaining the lead, when Senior Nick Valentini beat the Oklahoma net-minder with a top shelf bullet coming down the left side to put Arkansas ahead 2-1 with 17:01 remaining in the second. Sugasawara inked his name on the score sheet again with 6:30 remaining in the second period. Following passes from Pavel Salter and Brad Estrada, Sugasawara walked the puck into the low slot before making a nifty move to leave the Oklahoma goaltender flailing and neatly tucked the puck into the net.

The Razorbacks never looked tired in the third, keeping up their physical play and speed to keep the game out of reach. Junior Michael Ellis netted the Hogs fourth goal, and second powerplay goal, with 5:17 left in the third to ice the game. Arkansas looked good on the power play all night, and following good heads up passing from McAtee and Zach Wilson, Ellis was able to send a low shot past a screen in front for the final goal of the game.

Senior Jozef Dusenka made his first start of the season, making several spectacular saves; on the way to recording his first win of the season. Arkansas outshot Oklahoma 31-20 in the game.

Despite a strong start and good pace to the game, Arkansas found itself in penalty trouble early on Saturday night. Oklahoma opened the scoring 4 minutes into the game following a power-play goal by Tristan Glass. The rest of the first period was a back and forth affair, with both teams trading scoring chances and physical play.

The second period was tightly contested by both teams. The teams ran into penalty trouble during the second frame with seven infractions called collectively. Oklahoma struck again on the powerplay with 2:45 left in the period on a goal by Marshall Rushing. Arkansas quickly answered with a powerplay goal of their own a little over a minute later with a goal scored on a blast by senior defensemen Cameron McAtee, assisted by Zach Wilson.

Keeping with the theme, both teams fought for every inch of ice in the third period, with the Hogs keeping up the pressure searching for the equalizing goal. Oklahoma broke through with 3:05 left in the period on an odd-man rush, with a shot from Oklahoma’s Trevor Finch barely squeaking through. Oklahoma would tally an empty netter to complete the scoring on the weekend, and the game would end with a final of 4-1.

Freshman Grady Reis played well in his second start of the season, keeping Arkansas in the game with several tremendous saves throughout. Arkansas outshot Oklahoma again 31-28.

Hogs Sweep Opening Series Against ETBU

The Razorbacks start the 21-22 campaign on the right foot, beating ETBU by a combined score of 32-0 in their home opening series this past weekend. The two wins give Arkansas 24 straight home victories, dating back to the 18-19 season.

Friday saw eleven different Razorbacks score (Borlace-2, Deskeere-2, Ellis-2, McAtee-2, Sharrer-2, Crews, Heuerman, Hirschy, LaPlante, Sugasawara, Valentini) in front of a near sell out crowd at The Jones Center. Freshman Truman Hirschy and Jacob Heuerman both recorded their first collegiate goals. Senior Jacob Sharrer tallied his first and second goals of the season after being blanked throughout the 20-21 season, and was the first to be awarded the “Hog Head” for the games biggest impact player. Starting goaltender, sophomore Sam Haynes, records his first collegiate shutout on 16 saves. The Razorbacks dominated the pace of play for the majority of the game, and outshot ETBU 60-16.

The Hogs picked up right where they left off on Friday, matching Saturdays total on the scoreboard at 16-0. Keeping with the similarities, eleven different Razorbacks found the back of the net Saturday (Sugasawara-3, Elliott-2, Estrada-2, Moder-2, Heuerman, Lotz, McAtee, Salter, Sharrer, Valentini, Wilson). Freshman Ethan Moder and Ian Lotz both recorded their first collegiate goals. Freshman starting goaltender Grady Reis recorded his first collegiate shutout in his first career start. Sharrer passed the “Hog Head” to freshman Ian Lotz as the games biggest impact player due to his high energy and disruptiveness in his first Arkansas Razorback game.

This upcoming weekend, your hogs travel to Oklahoma City for a tough test against Div. I University of Oklahoma. These two teams have not met since the 2018-19 season, where Div. I OU swept Div. I Arkansas in three games by a combined score of 9-3. Overall the Sooners hold a strong edge in the matchup between the two programs, with a 16-2 record against the Razorbacks. On Friday, the Hogs will look to improve to 3-0, a feat they have accomplished every year under Head Coach Keller Sims. The Hogs could use the support of all Arkansas fans in the OKC area this weekend! Game times are below.

Friday: 10$ admission. 8:00 PM Puck Drop, Blazers Ice Centre, OKC, OK

Saturday: 10$ admission.5:00 PM Puck Drop, Blazers Ice Centre, OKC, OK

Ian Lotz Commits to Arkansas

The Razorback Hockey team is excited to announce that C-Ian Lotz will be attending the University of Arkansas this fall. Lotz, a 5’10”, 170lbs. center comes to Arkansas from the McKinney North Stars 18U team in McKinney, TX.

Lotz played for the McKinney North Stars organization, winning three Tier II Texas State Championships. In addition, Lotz won 2 high school state championships with Frisco High School while playing with current Razorback Michael Ellis. Lotz also cites his first state championship with Frisco as his favorite hockey memory because of how close their group was. Lotz fell in love with the speed and intensity of hockey while watching the Dallas Stars growing up and most tries to resemble his game after Nathan MacKinnon.

Lotz plans to study Supply Chain Management at Arkansas. When asked why he chose Arkansas, Ian said, “I saw it as a place I could see myself living and going to school and felt like a place I would belong.”

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2021-22 season will be the team’s fifteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be viewed here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale, AR.

Razorbacks Add Center Ethan Moder

The Razorback Hockey team is excited to announce that C-Ethan Moder will be attending the University of Arkansas this fall. Moder, a 5’8”, 160lbs. center comes to Arkansas from the Affton Americans 18U program and Eureka High School.

Moder, a native of St. Louis, MO, was a key player for the 2021 Founder’s Cup Champions Eureka HS. Moder was the 2nd-leading scorer with 5 goals and 10 assists in 14 games in his senior season. Moder played for many years in the Affton Americans youth hockey program. The Razorbacks have a long history of recruiting from the organization, with current Razorbacks Cameron McAtee and Kyle Crews being alums of the program. Along with the 2021 Founder’s Cup Championship, Moder was also a member of the 2019 championship Eureka team.

Moder most tries to resemble Patrice Bergeron’s 2-way style of contributing on both ends of the ice. Moder plans to major in Business Administration at Arkansas. When asked why he chose Arkansas he said, “I loved the campus and the town.”

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2021-22 season will be the team’s fifteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be viewed here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale, AR.

Noah Goodwin Commits to Arkansas

The Razorback Hockey team is excited to announce that G-Noah Goodwin will be attending the University of Arkansas this fall. Goodwin, a 5’8”, 200lbs. goalie comes to Arkansas from the Oklahoma City Oil Kings U18 program.

Goodwin, a native of Oklahoma City, OK, helped backstop the 18U Oil Kings to a 3rd place finish at the 2021 USAHockey 18U AA National Championships. In 2019, he was selected to the All-Star team at the TCHC Recruitment Camp. Goodwin began playing hockey when his Canadian-born father got him on the ice at a young age. When asked who he believes he most resembles, Goodwin chose Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros because he makes up for his size with lateral speed and great puck tracking. His favorite hockey memory is stopping all three Dallas Penguins shooters in a shootout to win a tournament championship.

Goodwin plans to major in Business Administration and continue on to get his MBA. When asked why he chose Arkansas he said, “The hockey was very appealing, and I was instantly drawn to the campus. The small-town feel with all the advantages of the many programs offered was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a school that had a hometown feel while allowing me to spread my wings and experience new things. The University of Arkansas offers all the things I was looking for.”

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2021-22 season will be the team’s fifteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be viewed here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale, AR.

Razorback Season Preview

The 2021-22 schedule for the Arkansas Razorback Hockey team was announced last week, setting up for an exciting 15th season of Hog hockey. This will be the Razorbacks first official season as a part of the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association after announcing a departure from the SECHC in 2019. Arkansas begins the season at home on September 17th and 18th against DII East Texas Baptist University. The rivalry between the Razorbacks and Tigers has grown substantially, with teams splitting a two-game set in Shreveport, LA in the 2020-21 season. Arkansas swept the Tigers at home in the 2019-20 season. These two teams have a knack for offense, combining for an astounding 45 goals in the last 4 matchups. The hogs follow that up with a road series against DI Oklahoma. Arkansas has not played Oklahoma since the 2019-20 season. This will be the first game since February 29th, 2020 for Oklahoma, who elected to opt out of the 2020-21 season.

October gets started with a road trip to the Dallas Metroplex to take on DBU on October 1st and 2nd and North Texas on October 3rd. Arkansas swept DBU in five regular season games and one National Tournament game during the 2020-21 season. The Razorbacks last took on North Texas in 2018-19, defeating the Mean Green 10-0 and 18-2. Arkansas then returns home for four straight games, starting with two against Iowa State on October 8th and 9th. The Hogs then get a week off before welcoming longtime rival Missouri St. to The Jones Center. Arkansas swept Missouri St. during the 2020-21 season in four regular season games and the National Semi-Final.

After a week off, Arkansas will travel to Springfield, MO for the Route 66 Showcase on November 5th, 6th, and 7th. The Razorbacks look to defend their 2019 Route 66 Championship with games against Butler University on the 5th, New Mexico on the 6th, and Miami(OH) on the 7th. The Hogs then host Nebraska on November 12th and 13th. Arkansas and Nebraska have engaged in some exceptionally physical battles, last facing off in 2019 with the Razorbacks winning 6-3 and 5-2. Arkansas hits the road for a two-game set in Independence, MO against rival Kansas on November 19th and 20th. Kansas and Arkansas have a fierce rivalry that will grow even more with conference standings now on the line. The Hogs then return home to take on North Texas in a rare Sunday home game on the 21st. The Hogs cap off the Fall semester with a two-game road trip to play Mizzou on December 3rd and 4th.

After the holiday break, the Hogs open the Spring semester on home ice against Dallas Baptist on January 21st and 22nd. Arkansas hits the road for a trip to Missouri St. on January 28th and 29th, before finishing out the regular season with senior weekend on February 4th and 5th against Kansas. The following week begins postseason play at the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament. Maryville University Hockey Center will host the tournament in St. Louis, MO. Dates for the tournament are February 11th-13th. Arkansas then gets a month to prepare for the ACHA National Tournament, hosted by Maryville University in St. Louis, MO. Dates for the ACHA National Tournament are March 10th-20th.

Check out the full schedule here!

The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2021-22 season will be the team’s fifteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be viewed here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale, AR.