Naturals Score 8-7 Overtime ACHA Victory Against National Power Dordt College
Northwestern Club Hockey Team Splits Weekend Series in Sioux Center, Iowa
Posted on Oct. 21, 2009
Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, scored a goal in overtime to lift Northwestern Health Sciences University’s club hockey team, the Naturals, to an 8-7 victory over national powerhouse Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Playing on the road in front of a very loud hometown crowd of nearly 1,000 partisan spectators only seemed to faze the Naturals during the first period of the first game of the weekend series. Trailing 3-1 midway through the first period on Friday night (Oct. 16), the Naturals came back and played the Dordt College Blades even for the rest of the evening in a 5-3 loss.
And on Saturday night, you could have heard a pin drop in Dordt College’s Vernon Arena after Howe’s goal 1:51 into the overtime period. What had been a raucous crowd went completely silent after the goal.
“I thought we had a fantastic weekend,” said Steve Dus, head coach of the Naturals. “Coming down to play Dordt College on their home ice was a huge challenge for the first road trip in the history of Northwestern collegiate hockey. They finished fifth in the nation last year in Division 3, they were 24-7 last year, and they had a very loud crowd behind them.” Northwestern plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Assocation’s (ACHA) Division 2.
Forward Chris Trimner, T4 chiropractic, led the Naturals in the two games in goals scored with three goals. He also added an assist. The Northwestern points leader for the weekend was Giles Stifter, T9 chiropractic, who had a goal and five assists.
Saturday, Oct. 17: Naturals 8, Dordt College 7
Saturday night’s game started well for the Naturals, with Northwestern going into the lockeroom after the first period with a 2-0 lead on goals by Trimner and forward-turned-defenseman Zach Lundbohm, T1 chiropractic. But the Blades came back with three goals in three minutes to take a 3-2 lead early in the second period before Lundbohm’s second goal of the night knotted the score at 3-3. The two teams traded goals before Dordt College scored two unanswered goals to grab a 6-4 lead with 13:22 left in the third period. But the Naturals fought back with three unanswered goals to take a 7-6 lead with 8:05 left in the game.
Trimner got the surge going with a goal at the 13:02 mark of the third period, and then forward Jake Bohnen, T4 chiropractic, added his second goal of the night at the 10:43 mark. Stifter finished the scoring run with a long-distance shot that curved around the Blades goalie and into the net. Dordt College immediately pulled their regular goalie after Stifter’s goal and put their back-up goalie in the net.
The two teams battled for the rest of the third period before Dordt College scored with 36 seconds on the clock on a controversial goal. Northwestern goalie Nick Ongaro, T7 chiropractic, was hit by a Blades player and knocked back into the net just before Dordt College shot and scored their seventh goal to tie the game. Loud protests from Dus and Ongaro failed to get the call reversed, and the two teams went into overtime playing four-on-four.
Howe grabbed the puck off the boards during a scramble behind the Dordt College net and skated to the side of the goal before shooting backhanded to give the Naturals the win. He immediately skated over to the bleacher section where Northwestern alumnus Cody Hoefert, DC, was sitting with several of his children and pointed at him.
“I knew where he was sitting in the stands and I wanted to be sure to publicly recognize him for his support of our club,” said Howe, whose goal Saturday night was his second game-winner of the season. The Natural’s bench emptied immediately after the goal and all of the Northwestern players converged on Howe in front of Dr. Hoefert to celebrate the goal.
“We really wanted to win the game and be able to present the game puck to Dr. Hoefert,” explained Dus. “He came into the lockerroom before tonight’s game and gave the players a great pep talk. He is a successful doctor of chiropractic and a big supporter of our University, so we were hoping we could win for him.” After his pep talk to the Naturals, Dr. Hoefert presented the club with a check for $1,000.
Trimner, Bohnen and Lundbohm led the Naturals on Saturday night with two goals each. Stifter had a goal and four assists.
Friday, Oct. 16: Blades 5, Naturals 3
After looking confused and overwhelmed in the first period of their first game on the road – in front of nearly 1,000 Dordt College fans – Northwestern battled the Blades evenly the rest of the evening.
“We look shell-shocked for the first 20 minutes,” said Dus. “But after that first period, we realized we could play with them.”
Both teams lost key players early in the game Friday night. The Blades Nate Woudstra, a forward who led the team last season with 38 goals, went down with a dislocated knee. Then Naturals defenseman Jeff Bjorklund, T4 chiropractic, skated to the bench with a strained knee that sidelined him for the rest of the weekend.
Dus juggled the Natural’s line-up, pulling Lundbohm back from his usual forward spot, and Northwestern kept playing well. After trailing 3-1, the Naturals traded goals with the Blades for the rest of the evening. Trimner scored with 4.5 second left in the first period to close the deficit to 3-2. Dordt College scored with 18:25 left in the second period to go up 4-2, then Dan Cianni, T1 chiropractic, tallied a goal to cut the lead to 4-3 on assists by his linemates – forwards Adam Garcia, T6 chiropractic, and Nick Moe, T1 chiropractic. Moe had opened the Naturals’ scoring Friday night in the first period with a goal that was assisted by Cianni.
Ongaro, the Naturals’ only goalie, made 65 saves in the two games. He had a save percentage of 84.4 against last year’s fifth-ranked team in Division 3. Also making the trip to Sioux Center were forwards Andrew Erlandson, T3 chiropractic, and Matt Miller, T6 chiropractic; and defensemen Mike Modich, T10 chiropractic, and Tom Policano, T4 chiropractic. Miller had two assists during the series, and both Modich and Erlandson had one assist each during the series.
“Our guys are starting to be a team instead of a group of individuals,” noted Dus. “Now they believe in each other. There is no comparison to the team that I saw at our first practice back in June. We get better every practice, and we haven’t begun to play to our potential. This is going to be a great season.”
ACHA TEAM NEWS
Next Home Game: Northwestern hosts the Gustavus Adolphus junior varsity team on Halloween evening. The Oct. 31 game is at 7:15 p.m. on Rink 3 at Bloomington Ice Gardens. Admission is free to Northwestern students with a student ID and general admission tickets are $3. Kids under 12, when accompanied by an adult, get in free. Concession stands will be open. The Gustavus Adolphus varsity team, which plays in the NCAA Division 3, played in the national championship game last season. The Gusties play in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAC). Bloomington Ice Gardens is the site of a MIAC Halloween tournament this year, and the Gustavus Adolphus varsity team will be playing at BIG at 8:05 p.m. on Oct. 31. Northwestern will play three MIAC JV teams this year – Gustavus, St. John’s and St. Mary’s.
Next Road Trip: Northwestern goes to Yankton, South Dakota in mid-November to play a pair of games against the University of South Dakota (USD). The Naturals play the Coyotes on Nov. 13-14. The two teams share a common opponent this season – South Dakota State University (SDSU). Northwestern picked up a pair of wins against the Jackrabbits in mid-October by scores of 9-5 and 5-4. Earlier in October, SDSU beat USD 6-1.
Points Leaders: Defenseman Giles Stifter, T9 chiropractic, leads the Naturals with nine points in four games. He has a goal and eight assists. Second on the team in points is Zach Lundbohm, T1 chiropractic, how has five goals and three assists for eight points. Lundbohm is the leading goal scorer for the Naturals. Matt Miller, T6 chiropractic, has seven points – four goals and three assists – and Jake Bohnen, T4 chiropractic, has six points on four goals and two assists. Chris Trimner, T4 chiropractic, is tied with Miller and Bohnen for second most goals on the team with four. Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, leads the team in game-winning goals with two.
ACHA Season Schedule: Northwestern currently has 23 games scheduled between early October 2009 and early March 2010 against a variety of collegiate teams ranging from ACHA Division 2 and Division 3 teams to NCAA Division 3 junior varsity teams. The Naturals are also negotiating games with several other colleges and expect to play between 28 and 30 games this season. Northwestern just added two games in early March 2010 at home against Hibbing Community College, which had a 12-2 record last year. Two Northwestern players, goalie Nick Ongaro, T7 chiropractic, and forward/defenseman Mike Modich, T10 chiropractic, grew up in Hibbing. Click here for the Naturals' current season schedule.
For more information on the ACHA, visit the ACHA website.