This past weekend the Razorbacks (11-0-0) defended home ice and maintained an undefeated record in front of great crowds, notching two victories over rival Missouri State (2-2-0). Arkansas, wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness, would strike first Friday night with a goal from captain Alex Kueser. Missouri State came back with a goal of their own to tie the game at one goal apiece after one period. The Ice Hogs would strike back early in the second period on a goal from Zach Riley. Assistant captain Chris Stovall then contributed 2 goals in a span of 4 minutes, giving Arkansas a 4-1 lead entering the final period. The Ice Hogs kept pushing in the third; Stovall added his third goal of the contest and Griffin Sugasawara scored 2 goals of his own, sending the Razorbacks to a 7-1 win. Jozef Dusenka racked up 23 saves on 24 shots to collect his fifth win of the season.
Fans at The Jones Center on Saturday afternoon would see much of the same as the Razorbacks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period. Assistant captain Shaun Foster, Zach Wilson, Jordan Deskeere, and Chris Stovall each scored en route to a dominant first frame. Missouri State responded with a goal of their own in the second period, before Brendan Bomay restored the four goal lead in the last minute of the period. Cameron McAtee and Evan Kerr each added a goal in the final period to give the Hogs their second 7-1 victory in as many nights. Goalie Alex Kalmes stopped 27 of 28 shots for his fifth win of the season.
This coming weekend will see the Razorbacks head off to Michigan for 4 games in 4 days. The trip begins on Saturday, October 19th against the University of Michigan (faceoff at 6pm CST), followed by Oakland University on Sunday the 20th (faceoff at 1pm CST). The trip rounds out with two games at Grand Valley State University on Monday (7pm CST faceoff) and Tuesday (11am CST faceoff). The Hogs have never faced off against Michigan or Oakland, but own a 3-1 record against GVSU having last made the trek north during the 2012-13 season.
All three opponents qualified for last year’s National Tournament, with Michigan and GVSU advancing to the semi-finals and GVSU finishing as a National Runner-up. The Hogs will look to remain strong on both defense and offense, having averaged just 1.9 goals against in 11 games and a team save percentage of .920, along with averaging 7.3 goals for per game.
The University of Arkansas Men’s Hockey team plays in the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference. The 2019-20 season will be the team’s thirteenth season as a member of the ACHA competing in Division III. The team’s schedule can be found here. All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.
