EIU Hockey1EIU Splits with Mizzou Mizzou

January 21, EIU-4 Mizzou-5

EIU came into Saturday's game against Mizzou more than ready for a good tilt. The boys knew that there was going to be a crowd and that they were facing the team tied for first in the league they are trying to be in next year, the MACHA. Preparation started when the team held a meeting at their hotel at 4:30 P.M. to discuss the attitude they need on the bench in order to be successful in the nights game. "The meeting paid off, everyone was positive on the bench and supported their teammates" said coach Dan Runnion. The first period started and EIU struck the board first at 17:28 when Mike Sorrentino (Assited by: Shannon) found the twine. EIU came out very strong to start the first period, however Mizzou also had some momentum of their own. Mizzou scored two late period goals to leave the first period's total at Mizzou 2 EIU 1. The atmosphere in the locker room between the first and second was that the team knew they had to dig deeper in order to stay in this game. Continuing with their momentum Mizzou scored two more goals to start the second period leaving the score 4-1 with 15:46 left in the period. "The atmosphere on the bench was frustrated with the amount of penalties being called on us, but the boys kept their mouths shut and did not give up." says captain Brad Bartosz. Rookie forward Jake Armijo sparked up the team when he scored an unassisted goal dancing around both Mizzou defenders and putting the puck top shelf past the Mizzou goalie. Mizzou starte the third period scoring another Powerplay goal at 16:44. EIU answered back with a powerplay goal of their own from Mike Sorrentino, his second of the night, (Assisted by: Clark and Shannon). Havoc quickly broke loose minutes later in the third when Jake Armijo was forced to drop the mitts with John Guminsky. Armijo was untouched in the fight and landed two or three solid hits. Along with Armijo, Bartosz and Maly were sent off the ice during the scrum. EIU found some spark in this turn of events and notched another tally when Jack McDonnell scored (Assisted by: Shannon and Guttosch). EIU's effort was not good enough, however, and the game ended EIU -4 Mizzou- 5. Captain Brad Bartosz also received a mild concussion and his return is TBD. Coach Runnion: I was very proud of the boys. They battled through the game and never gave up. To lose by one to Mizzou at their own barn is nothing to be ashamed about. We just have to come out stronger tomorrow and tweak a few things with our play. Teske did his job by playing great and putting us in a position to win, but our penalty killing failed us. The National Guard turnout was also remarkable, nothing like patriotism to support our collegiate hockey clubs.

Team Goals Assists Shots Penalty Minutes PPG SHG PP % Goalie Save %
EIU 4 5 22 41 1 0 16.67% 78.26%
Mizzou 5 6 23 32 4 0 33.33% 81.81%


January 22, EIU-5 Mizzou-4

Early on Sunday Coach Runnion had to meet with captain Brad Bartosz and assistant captain Connor Maly to determine what the lines for the upcoming game will be. Armijo, Bartosz, and Maly would all be forced to sit today's game (as well as 3 Mizzou players) for the previous nights actions. EIU knew that they would have to step their game up with three solid players missing from their lineup. Rookie Jake Armijo commented saying this is a time for opportunity for some of our guys, and they know that they are going to have to step up. The scoring started in the first period when Mizzou found the net. With 5:45 left in the first, EIU answered back with a textbook powerplay back door goal scored by Tim Shannon (Assisted by: McDonnell and Capouch). EIU used this momentum going into the second period when Sam Guttasch found the net (Assisted by: Sorrentino and Shannon). EIU was leading at the end of the second 2-1. The chatter in the locker room was that the boys needed to focus on the individual battles if they were going to win this game. They took that advice into consideration and notched two to start the second period from Zach Yurchak and Sam Guttasch (his second of the night). Mizzou answered back with two powerplay goals to bring the score to 4-3. EIU struck the board again when Sam Guttasch achieved his hat trick for the night. Mizzou answered back with 3:36 in the third to bring them down by only one. Mizzou pulled their goalie with seconds left in the third and had a draw down in EIU's defensive zone. Conner Cox saved the day reading Mizzou's faceoff play and interecepting the puck, clearing the zone, and drawing a penalty. The final score was EIU over Mizzou 5-4. Chris Gallagher was injured during the third game, finding out later that his fibula was broken and that he would be out for the remainder of the season. Coach Runnion: We worked together as a team this weekend and pulled off a split against Mizzou. Both games were great and played with alot of dedication on both sides. We had some key players missing from the lineup today, but the boys stepped up to the challenge and did what they had to do. It sucks we had to lose a guy like Gally (Chris Gallagher) who works his bag off for the team game after game. We will be missing him for the remainder of the season and expecting his return for the next one. As for Bartosz, we will hopefully be seeing him return soon; however concussions are not a thing to mess around with.

Team Goals Assists Shots Penalty Minutes PPG SHG PP % Goalie Save %
EIU 5 7 43 16 2 0 28.57% 89.19%
Mizzou 4 4 37 18 2 0 28.57% 88.37%


Photos From The Trip