Beers Go Flat Against Naturals
Northwestern Club Hockey Team Opens Showcase Season With 12-4 Romp
Posted on Sept. 16, 2009
Ten players tallied at least one point apiece as the Naturals, Northwestern Health Sciences University’s club hockey team, opened its Fall Showcase Central Silver League non-contact season with a 12-4 win over the Beers at Ridder Arena on Sept. 14.
Forward Jake Bohnen, T4 chiropractic, notched a hat trick (three goals) to lead the Naturals to the win. Bohnen also had an assist for a four-point night. Defenseman Greg Petersen, T1 chiropractic, added five points on two goals and three assists. Also scoring a pair of goals was Drew Fautsch, T1 chiropractic.
“The month off during summer break didn’t seem to affect us too negatively,” said John Healy, BS, club advisor and the University’s director of communications. “We kept the puck in their end of the rink for a majority of the game and really hammered their goalie with a continuous barrage of shots.”
The Naturals raced to a quick 4-0 lead at the end of the first period at Ridder Arena, which is located on the University of Minnesota campus and is the rink where the Gophers’ Division 1 NCAA women’s hockey team plays.
After giving up two quick goals to the Beers at the beginning of the second period, the Naturals rattled the Beers’ net for five straight goals to take an imposing 9-2 lead at the end of the second period. Northwestern extended its lead to 11-2 with a pair of goals early in the third period before coasting to a 12-4 win.
Healy noted that the Beers qualified for the Showcase Silver League’s winter playoffs earlier this year. “They were a decent team, but we simply overwhelmed them with better passing, better shooting, better defense and outstanding goaltending.”
“We’ve played 24 games in the last six months, so our players are pretty familiar with each other’s tendencies and we have good team chemistry,” said Healy.
“We’ve come a long way since finishing seventh out of eight teams in our Spring League, where we went 1-5-2.”
Healy singled out Chris Trimner, T4 chiropractic, for his overall outstanding play. Trimner scored a goal and added two assists from his first-line center position, and was on his way to an even bigger point total when the blade on one of his skates snapped late in the second period and he had to sit out the rest of the night. Trimner’s line, which included Bohnen and forward Andrew Erlandson, T3 chiropractic (two assists), totaled nine points for the night.
Also tallying points for Northwestern were: center Cassidy Quinton, T6 chiropractic, one goal and one assist; forward Jeremy Heidt, T7 chiropractic, one goal; forward Matthew Freudenthal, T7 chiropractic, one goal; defenseman Giles Stifter, T9 chiropractic, one goal; and Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, one assist.
NON-CONTACT CLUB NEWS & NOTES
The Naturals have been a much better team over their last 11 non-contact games, posting a record of 7-2-1 since early July 2009. Prior to those 11 games, Northwestern was 4-12-1 in non-contact games.
Next Showcase Game
The Naturals next Fall Showcase Central Silver League game is on Monday, September 21, at 8:30 p.m. against the Busted Tuuks at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
Natural’s Showcase Fall Silver League Regular Season Schedule
Showcase Fall Silver League Regular Season Standings
ACHA TEAM NEWS & NOTES
The Naturals are playing a collegiate full-contact schedule this fall and winter. They have joined the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which is comprised of nearly 400 member universities and colleges nationwide who have club hockey teams, and will play in its Division 2 (there are three divisions). Northwestern currently has 22 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.
The season opener will be on Friday, Oct. 9, when South Dakota State University comes to town for a pair of games against Northwestern at the Bloomington Ice Gardens, which is Northwestern’s home ice. The game is expected to begin at 7:15 p.m. For the most current Naturals collegiate hockey schedule, click here.
Northwestern’s club team practices twice a week at the Bloomington Ice Gardens, usually on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Alumni are welcome to join the team for practices, which are contact. If you are interested, get in touch with Healy at (952) 885-5436, or e-mail him at jhealy@nwhealth.edu.
Click here for more about the ACHA.