On Halloween night, Texas A&M ice hockey downed North Texas in a 5-2 win, only to haunt the Mean Green again on Saturday, Nov. 1, 4-1 at Spirit Ice Arena. Following the pair of wins, the Aggies are 12-3-1 on the season.
As Game 1 began, the Aggies slammed their sticks against the boards to bring the energy, which continued throughout the first period. Political science senior defenseman Cale Morrow scored first at 7:16 in the first period, but North Texas answered immediately to tie the game, 1-1.
Nuclear engineering junior forward Nicholas Leone led a trio of goals with a top-shelf shot to put the Aggies ahead 2-1, followed by Morrow and 18 seconds later, chemical engineering sophomore F Andrew Green to end the first period, 4-1.
The Aggies utilized their depth to establish a strong lead against the Mean Green, coach Gary Russell said.
“One of our top players was out, and we relied on a few guys to get us going,” Russell said.
In the second period, the Maroon and White started with an early power play, but were unable to find the back of the net. A stubborn defense from both teams including Blinn freshman goalie Mikhail Saratovtsev kept the period scoreless.
Going into the final period, the Aggies got another power play, and Leone connected for his second goal of the night to extend A&M’s lead, 5-1. North Texas found momentum with one final shot, but it was too little, too late as the buzzer sounded with A&M claiming the victory, 5-2.
“We got away with a couple of soft goals, and they had a lot of good opportunities, but our goalie [Saratovtsev] played really well,” nuclear engineering senior F Mason Burdett said.
The next day, A&M headed into Game 2 hungry for every second of gameplay, manufacturing and mechanical engineering sophomore G Thomas Andreeff said.
The Mean Green learned a lesson in Game 1 and were ready to defend in the first period. Neither team managed to get on the scoreboard as goalies and defenders blocked shots left and right.
Early in the second period, Burdett scored the first goal for the Maroon and White to finally give A&M the lead it had been seeking for.
“It was a 0-0 game, and you know, it felt like the first goal was gonna break the game open,” Burdett said. “I think the energy was up on the bench after that first goal. Everybody was starting to feel it a little bit more, grip their sticks a little less tight, and we just got it going.”
Defense remained a consistent theme through the rest of the second period, with four power plays however there were no goals either side. As the final period loomed, Andreeff explained he was just focused on the next puck. He said he wasn’t worried about the clock or power plays, just making sure that he was the brick wall for the A&M defense.
The third period was the most action packed that evening. North Texas tied the game 1-1 five minutes into the third period. The Aggies responded with two goals after just five seconds, first by Leone, immediately followed by Burdett to give A&M a two-score lead, 3-1. Human resource development freshman F Tyer Gearman scored a final goal for the Aggies, to give A&M the win, 4-1.
“The chances kept coming for us,” Russell said. “I thought UNT played really well to start the game, and at the end we just kind of pulled away there.”
Heading into rivalry week, the Aggies will look to keep the momentum going for the Lonestar Showdown series against the Texas Longhorns.
“Enjoy this one tonight, and then, you know, obviously, just keep doing the little things better – that’s our motto,” Russell said.
The Aggies will travel to Austin on Friday, Nov. 7, and return to Spirit Ice Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8, to face off against the Longhorns at home.
