Warriors top No. 13 Hawkeyes in overtime

By Aaron Schneider

CORALVILLE – The Waldorf College hockey team pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory against the University of Iowa during Friday’s series opener.

“It was a good team win for us,” Waldorf coach Brett Shelanski said. “Our play wasn’t as consistent as we would like, but we showed a lot of heart and determination through the ups and downs of the game.”

It only took 15 seconds in the extra period for freshman Ryan Veillet to connect on the game-winner following a pass from junior Artem Savelyev to lift Warriors (7-6) over the Hawkeyes (0-7), who earned a No. 13 ranking in the final American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II Central Region poll last season.

Waldorf received goals from senior Christian Weber and freshman Robert Danyo. Adding to their assist totals on the night were Savelyev and sophomores Travis Park and Jeremy Navarro.

Weber’s score boosted his season total to a team-high of five goals. Weber and Savelyev share the team lead with 10 points on the season.

The Warriors wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as Danyo capitalized off a pass from Park only 51 seconds into the match. Iowa’s Ben Brandau provided the equalizer with the help of Jonathan Losurdo and Robert McCabe.

During the sixth minute of the second period, Weber took a pass from Navarro and found the back of the net to give Waldorf a 2-1 advantage.

It was only two minutes later when Bobby Acri evened the score once again with Nathan Podraza and Timothy Mclaughlin assisting on the score.

The game remained until Veillet’s game-winning goal at the start of overtime.

On Saturday, the Warriors seek a third season sweep in program history over the Hawkeyes. After an all-out battle, Waldorf knows nothing will come easy in the 5 p.m. series finale.

“We know we have our work cut out for us again [on Saturday] and we will have to be ready,” Shelanski said.