The Arkansas Razorback Men’s Ice Hockey Team (23-8-1) closed down its regular season this past weekend (2/1 & 2/2) by notching two wins against the McKendree University Bearcats. Before a packed Jones Center crowd on Friday night, the Razorbacks overwhelmed the Bearcats for a full sixty minutes by compiling sixteen total goals. The team’s doing so marked the most goals scored by the Razorbacks on home ice this season. The sellout crowd was treated to goals by, among others, Erik Robinson, Justin McDowell, Johnny Stromp, and a hat trick from Mason Brower. Kevin Scheer earned the victory in goal for Arkansas.
Saturday’s contest, another blowout win–this one 8-0–featured a hat trick from senior Garth Derry and two goals from Martin Sundstedt. His teammates–Trent Ritchie, James Nemeth and Ryan Machos– each tallied once as the Razorbacks rolled for the second night in a row. Spencer Mulgrew earned the shutout in net.
The Razorbacks’ February 2 victory marked the end of the regular season and ran the team’s winning streak to ten games (the Hogs have not lost since November of last semester). The team finished the regular season with twenty-three wins, an undefeated record on home ice, and the program’s fourth consecutive regular season SECHC-West conference title.
Looking ahead, Arkansas travels to Irmo, South Carolina, next week to begin national post-season play. The Razorbacks will play as the #2 seed in the South Regional and are matched up against the Christopher Newport Captains (17-10-1, #7 seed) at 2:30 pm EST on Friday, February 15. The two programs have never met. The Captains are led in scoring by Kyle Jahn (24 G, 28 A) and Brandon Finch (14 G, 20 A). Eric Dumas has backstopped the Captains to an impressive 15 victories and has logged 1533.08 minutes and a 3.17 GAA in doing so.
Should the Razorbacks win on Friday, they will advance in the tournament and play again on Saturday for a birth to Nationals (i.e., the sweet sixteen). A loss on either day, however, would end the Hogs’ hopes of a second appearance at Nationals. Local Razorback fans can watch all the games in the South Regional at Plex Indoor Sports & Ice (1019 Broad Stone Rd, Irmo, SC 29063). For those who are unable to attend, please follow our social media pages for in-game real-time updates.
Finally, remember that the Razorbacks return to the Jones Center for the final time on March 1 & 2 when they take on the University of Texas-San Antonio (DII).
