For the first time since returning to two teams, both Razorback Hockey clubs swept their opponents on the same weekend following 4 victories over a pair of Tigers. On Friday, the Division III squad would get the party started on the road against future MACHA South foe East Texas Baptist in Shreveport, LA. On the backs of a three goal performance from senior captain Jason Gifford and another standout performance in net from senior Noah Goodwin, the Hogs would cruise on the road to a 7-3 victory over the Tigers.
Just as DIII was finishing their thrashing of ETBU, the puck would drop at the Jones Center in front of a capacity crowd as the Division II squad took on the Missouri Tigers in their annual Military Appreciation Night. The start did not go as planned for the Hogs as the ended the first frame 2-0. After regrouping during the intermission, the Hogs would score two of their own in the second to enter the deciding third period all tied up. Freshman Miles Watson would score the game winner with 15:11 remaining in the game. Sophomore JD Duenwald would add the insurance on a shorthanded goal and Freshman Ayden Frolik would put the game away with five minutes to play.
On Saturday, the Division III squad would look to finish the sweep of ETBU on the road. Seven different Razorbacks would contribute to the scoring (Wohilitz, Moder, Asher, Kilgore, Verble, Semingson, Witchryk) as the squad would again dominate ETBU on their home ice. Sophomore, Addison Phillips would follow up his stellar 50 save shutout against Missouri State, allowing 1 goal on 39 shots in the 7-1 win. When asked about the weekend Head Coach Greg Betzold had this to say ” It is really great to see the boys playing at this level. We have really come together as a group and bought in to doing the little things right. There were some growing pains early, but its great to see us playing at the level we knew we were capable of all along”.
Back at the Jones Center, Arkansas looked to sweep rival Mizzou at home. Senior, and program shutout record holder, Sam Haynes would get the start. Arkansas again was plagued by a slow start and added penalty trouble. They entered the 3rd frame down 2-1 but never doubted they would be able to overcome the deficit. Newcomer Raf Praysner would tie the game on a shot off of the faceoff early in the period. After a quick answer from Mizzou, Freshman Alex Fendler would find the back of the net to again tie the contest. Freshman Chris Colon would score the game winner on a odd man rush with 6:30 remaining in the game. Junior Brenden Coon sealed the game with a empty netter with 00:02 remaining.
With the result, Division II is 4-1 against Missouri on the season. Following their sweep, Division III is 4-0 against ETBU on the season. The victories locked Division II into the 3rd seed at the upcoming MACHA Tournament in Chesterfield, MO. Looking ahead, Division II will travel to Oklahoma State on Thursday 1/30 before returning home for a two game series against the Cowboys at 7:30pm Friday 1/31 and 3:15pm Saturday 2/1. Arkansas defeated OSU 9-0 in their previous meeting this season. Division III will hit the road again for a 2 game series in Dallas, TX versus Dallas Baptist University. The Patriots and Razorbacks split their series at the Jones Center earlier this season.