Naturals Stop Action Jackson 5-3 in Hockey Rematch
Matt Freudenthal and Aaron Howe Combine for Three Goals
Posted on June 22, 2009
Matt Freudenthal, T6 chiropractic, scored a pair of goals from his second-line wing position to power Northwestern Health Sciences University’s club hockey team, the Naturals, to a physical 5-3 win in a Showcase Summer Hockey League game on June 21.
The Naturals came back from a 2-0 deficit at the end of the first period to notch their fourth straight win and raise their Showcase League record to 4-3-0 at Parade Ice Arena. Overall, Northwestern is 8-9-2 this season.
“We were a bit flat tonight, but our guys still managed to not panic when we were down 2-0,” said John Healy, hockey club advisor and director of communications for the University. “Even when we trailed, I thought we would be OK because we were taking two or three shots to every one of their shots on goal. Eventually, we started to wear them down and scored five unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead.”
Healy noted that a pivotal play in the second period seemed to really get the Naturals back on track. “A couple of their guys put Greg (Petersen) into the boards, and the three of them got into it a bit. Greg’s teammates, led by Chris Trimner and Adam Garcia, went to his aid and multiple scuffles broke out right in front of our bench. No punches were thrown, but the whole thing fired up our guys and that’s when we started to pull away on the scoreboard.”
The Naturals newest player, Aaron Howe, who is in the Undergraduate Studies program , assisted Freudenthal on both of his goals and added an unassisted goal of his own.
“Don’t expect me to lead the team in scoring every game,” said Freudenthal with a smile. “I think that’s the most goals I’ve had in a game since I was in high school.”
“Aaron and Matt worked really well together on the second line,” noted Healy. “Aaron is the second player we’ve added this season from the Undergraduate Studies program. We added Greg (Petersen) on defense in May. Both plan on enrolling this fall in the chiropractic program.”
Andrew Erlandson, T3 chiropractic, opened the Naturals scoring early in the second period on an assist from defenseman Jordan Dyke, T2 chiropractic. Mike Modich, who centers Northwestern’s top line on offense, scored an unassisted goal to tie the score at 2-2.
According to Nick Ongaro, T6 chiropractic, the Naturals defensemen had another outstanding game. “Our defense is a lot better than it was early in the season,” said Ongaro. “Other teams are having a hard time getting near our net with the puck and when they do, our defensemen are attacking the puck and clearing it out of our zone.”
Playing defense for Northwestern are Dyke, Petersen, along with Jeff Bjorklund, T3 chiropractic, and Giles Stifter, T8 chiropractic. “Both Giles and Jeff played on our forward lines during the spring when we played in the Adult Hockey Association Elite League in Richfield, and they were among our leading scorers,” said Healy. “But both were willing to move back to defense to help the team get better, and it has worked.”
Club News & Notes
Nick Ongaro, the Naturals’s goalie, has turned his season around in the last three games. After giving up 7 goals per game in the first four games, he has a goals against average of 3.66 in the last three games (and two of those games were against the top two teams in the league).
The Naturals practice Thursday nights at Bloomington Ice Gardens. New players are always welcome. Contact John Healy, club advisor, for details at jhealy@nwhealth.edu. For the last month, Steve Dus, a former player at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, has been leading practices. Dus also coaches a junior team in Bloomington. Dus will be coaching the Naturals this fall when they compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, a full-contact collegiate club hockey league. The Naturals will be playing at the Bloomington Ice Gardens, where they practice.
Next Game
The Naturals next Showcase Summer League game is on Sunday, June 28, at 8:45 p.m. against Nameless at Parade Ice Arena. The Naturals lost earlier this season to Nameless 8-4. Parade Ice Arena is located just west of the Walker Art Center near downtown Minneapolis.
Natural’s Showcase Summer League Season Schedule