Naturals Sweep University of South Dakota on the Road
Jake Bohnen Tallies Eight Points to Lead Northwestern
Posted on Nov. 16, 2009
Their longest road trip of the season didn’t faze the Naturals as they dominated the University of South Dakota (USD) in 4-1 and 12-1 wins on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 in Yankton, S.D. The pair of wins moved the Naturals season record to 5-2 and their American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) record to 5-1.
Jake Bohnen, T4 chiropractic, led Northwestern Health Sciences University’s club hockey team, the Naturals, with five goals and three assists in the two games. Bohnen was backed up on offense by Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, who notched three goals and two assists in the pair of games. Northwestern outshot winless USD 133-41, and Naturals goalie Nick Ongaro, T7 chiropractic, had an outstanding save percentage of 95 percent in the two games.
“That Friday night game was tough, because we arrived at the arena 30 minutes before the game after a five-hour bus ride,” said Steve Dus, Northwestern’s head coach. “I was worried that we might not be mentally ready, but our players matched South Dakota’s intensity and showed great heart. I knew that if we could come out and match South Dakota’s intensity in the first period of the first game, then I liked our chances for a sweep against them.”
Nov. 13: Northwestern 4, South Dakota 1
South Dakota battled Northwestern to a 1-1 tie after two periods, thanks to a series of amazing saves by the Coyotes goalie, Brett Bennett. The Naturals outshot South Dakota 44-19 in the first two periods, and Northwestern continued the pressure in the third period with 23 additional shots. The pressure eventually wore down the Coyotes’ goalie, as the Naturals scored three goals to pick up a 4-1 win. Chris Trimner, T4 chiropractic, broke the 1-1 tie with a goal on an assist from defenseman Jeff Bjorklund, T4 chiropractic. Adam Garcia, T6 chiropractic, notched his first career ACHA goal to push the lead to 3-1, and Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, closed out Northwestern’s scoring on an assist from Trimner. Additional points came from: Jake Bohnen, T4 chiropractic, one goal and one assist; Cassidy Quinton, T6 chiropractic, one assist; Nick Moe, T1 chiropractic, one assist; Drew Fautsch, T1 chiropractic, one assist.
“Adam Garcia (T6 chiropractic) scored the key goal Friday night,” noted Dus. “He scored to give us a 3-1 lead, which is huge on the road to get a two-goal lead. That was his first goal of the season, and he made a lot of nice plays in the two games. He wasn’t too sure at the start of the season if he could be competitive playing ACHA hockey…I guess he answered his own question.”
Nov. 14: Northwestern 12, South Dakota 1
The Naturals raced to a quick 8-0 lead at the end of the first period, which featured an astounding 37 shots on goal by Northwestern. South Dakota started their backup goalie in the net, and he promptly gave up four goals in the first 10 minutes of the period. The Coyotes brought in their starting goalie from the night before, and he didn’t do much better, giving up four more goals in the remaining 10 minutes of the period.
Bohnen scored a hat trick (three goals) in the first period, and then opened the second period with a goal to push Northwestern’s lead to 9-0. South Dakota finally got on the scoreboard midway through the second period, but Northwestern countered with another goal to end the second period with a 10-1 lead. The Naturals tacked on a pair of goals in the third period for the final 12-1 win. The third period was played using running time rather than the usual stop time (the clock stops whenever a whistle blows) because the Naturals were ahead by so many goals.
Although Bohnen led the Naturals with four goals, he had plenty of help with his teammates on the scoreboard. Three Northwestern players scored two goals each – Aaron Howe, T1 chiropractic, Cassidy Quinton, T6 chiropractic, and Matt Miller, T6 chiropractic. Howe also added two assists and Miller tallied one assist. Additional points came from: Chris Trimner, T4 chiropractic, one goal and one assist; Zach Lundbohm, T1 chiropractic, one goal; Dan Cianni, T1 chiropractic, three assists; Jeff Bjorklund, T4 chiropractic, one assist; Drew Fautsch, T1 chiropractic, one assist; Adam Garcia, T6 chiropractic, one assist; Tom Policano, T4 chiropractic, one assist; and Nick Moe, T1 chiropractic, one assist. Even the Naturals’ goalie, Nick Ongaro, got into the points column with an assist on a goal by Bohnen.
“Everyone on the team got a point this weekend,” said Dus. “Everyone contributed to our overall team effort, which I was especially proud to see.”
Dus believes that the Naturals are a long way from playing their best hockey of the season. “Remember, we have only played seven games this year, six of them in the ACHA – and four of those on the road. To be 5-1 in the ACHA and 5-2 overall is absolutely fantastic for a first-year program.”
According to John Healy, the Naturals’ club advisor and the University’s director of communications, the team and its players were praised repeatedly by their hosts in Yankton. “Our players were praised for their professional appearance, their politeness, and their maturity. Many people came up to us to shake our hands and say how much they admired our program and our players. Probably the best comment I heard all weekend was during the second game, when the referee turned to me and said “You have a classy team.’”
ACHA NEWS & NOTES
Upcoming Games: Northwestern faces a pair of Division 3 junior varsity teams this weekend. St. Mary’s JV team is at Bloomington Ice Gardens on Friday, Nov. 20, at 10:30 p.m. to face the Naturals on Rink 1. St. John’s JV team squares off against Northwestern at 5:15 p.m. at Bloomington Ice Garden’s Rink 1 on Sunday, Nov. 22.
“We should do better this weekend against the JV teams from St. Mary’s and St. John’s than we did the first game against a JV team – a 10-2 loss to Gustavus Adolphus,” said Dus. “The games against JV teams this year will be our biggest tests as a team. Those games will give us the best indication of how good we are.
“Our team has great potential,” said Dus. “We will only lose two players from this year’s team, and we should add five to seven new players before next fall. Our upside is huge.”
Click here for the Naturals season schedule.