In what was its first victory of 2023, Texas A&M hockey dominated against TCU on Saturday, Sept. 16, with a 12-6 win. It bounced back after dropping its season opener the night prior.
The first couple of minutes in the game were physical, with players battling against the walls for possession of the puck. Shortly after, the scoring barrage began. The Aggies and the Horned Frogs exchanged goals, and TCU had a 2-1 lead early on.
The Maroon and White would then score five unanswered goals in the first period, including one from graduate defenseman Jacob Norwood, giving the Aggies a 6-2 lead in the first period.
TCU tacked on two more goals before the first intermission, and the first period ended with A&M up 6-4.
The second period began with a penalty on the Aggies, giving the Horned Frogs a power play.
TCU’s sophomore forward Aidan Casey drove one to the back of the net in the second minute of the second period, cutting the Aggies’ lead to 6-5.
A&M responded with three goals in the sixth minute of the period, as Norwood scored his second goal of the day at the 14-minute mark, extending the Maroon and White’s lead to 7-5.
The Aggies tacked on another two goals shortly after, with one of them coming off the stick of junior forward Robby Sours.
The Horned Frogs would call for a timeout, clearly having no answer for yet another Aggie scoring streak.
After the timeout, senior forward Garrett Diskey scored another goal for the Maroon and White in the 30th minute of the game, giving A&M a 10-5 lead over TCU.
The Horned Frogs were rewarded with another power play with less than six minutes left after an Aggie penalty.
With minutes left in the second period, Norwood committed another penalty for A&M, which gave TCU a five-on-three matchup.
The Horned Frogs couldn’t take advantage of this opportunity, however, as the Aggies did not allow them to score during this timeframe. The second period ended with A&M leading 10-5.
Much like the second period, the third period began with a mistake by A&M. It was called for interference, giving TCU another five-on-three; however, Norwood was able to create blocks on some of TCU’s shots on goal to begin the period, continuing his productive afternoon.
The Aggies scored another pair of goals in this period, giving them a dozen on the game. TCU scored the game’s final goal of the game in the final seconds before the final buzzer sounded, giving A&M win number one of 2023.
A&M made some defensive adjustments after a first period where TCU scored four goals to be able to close out the game with a victory.
The Horned Frogs scored one goal each in the final two periods, and the Aggies kept their foot on the gas pedal after grabbing the lead with their 12 goals.
The Maroon and White’s next game is against East Texas Baptist University on Sept. 22, 2023.