The Razorbacks capped off a successful Pink the Rink weekend with a pair of 5-1 victories over a tough RMU- Peoria Eagle squad.
The Ices Hogs were led by captain Forest Mudgett who tallied a pair of hat tricks in each game. The Ice Hogs began Saturday night’s game where they left off on Friday, dominating play from the drop of the puck. However, the Eagles were again led by a stalwart goalie in the form of #29 Cam Harron. Harron took over for Zac Cook who played Friday, and again, stoned the Razorbacks time after time. The Ice Hogs seemed destined to repeat the previous night’s effort pouring shot after shot at the Eagles netminder. The Hogs broke through at the 9:27 mark on a goal by Mason Brower set up by Erik Robinson. The period ended with the Hogs up 1-0.
Second period action picked up with the Eagles increasing their physical play and referee Chip Excell handed out several penalties to both squads for roughing. Razorback captain, Forest Mudgett took over and scored three successive goals on assists from newcomers Landyn Howze, and Colin South. Veteran Marcel Toure also added an assist on a nice tic-tac-toe passing exhibition for the first of Mudgett’s goals. As the previous night, the Hogs closed out the second period up 4-0.
The third period saw up and down play with the Hogs driving the net, and the Eagles attempting to spring a cherry picker in an effort to score. The Eagles finally broke Kevin Scheer’s shutout bid on a deflected shot that never left the ice and caught the lower corner of the net. With the score 4-1, James Haddock was rewarded on his nice efforts of the night on a feed from Travis Robbins and the final score matched the previous night’s final of 5-1.
The Ice Hogs showed progress in implementing coach Brian Gallini’s structured style of play. The tempo of the game was often very fast and lines are becoming more acclimated to each other. These games served to build some confidence and should prepare the Hogs well as they travel to Oklahoma to take on Division I Central Oklahoma next weekend.
