Waldorf brings down No. 10 Lewis in NCHL series sweep
By: Waldorf Sports Information Director
ROMEOVILLE, Illinois – Opening the season strong, Waldorf University brought down Lewis University in a 7-4 win to cap a Northern Collegiate Hockey League (NCHL) series sweep on Saturday.
Jess Engquist led the charge for the Warriors (2-0, 2-0) with a hat trick.
Waldorf entered the contest ranked No. 8 in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II Central Region poll and received goals from seniors Spencer Johnson, Reed Loucks, Artem Savelyev and junior Matthew Liggett.
Sophomore Ryan Veillet and junior Drew Soderberg provided two assists apiece. Johnson, Loucks and Liggett turned in one assist each to record two points apiece. Ten total players registered points for the Warriors.
Justin Adams, Vincent Kesic, Craig Tomassi and Pat Conoboy scored goals for the No. 10 Flyers (2-2, 2-2). Tomassi contributed two assists to lead Lewis with three points.
Waldorf outshot the Flyers 39-28 and was on the attack early with three goals in the opening period.
Engquist scored the game’s first goal unassisted in the 12th minute despite the Warriors being shorthanded. The senior forward from Richmond, Minnesota notched his second goal less than five minutes later off an assist from junior Jeffrey Bartel.
Savelyev pushed Waldorf to a three-goal advantage with 11 seconds remaining in the first period. Freshman Tyler Wilson and Soderberg contributed assists on the score.
Ten minutes into the second period, Adams put Lewis on the scoreboard as he connected for a goal behind assists from Nick Santelli and Patrick Nelson.
Liggett responded for the Warriors, driving the puck into the back of the net following assists from Veillet and Johnson.
Johnson delivered the game-winning goal 15 minutes into the second period while Soderberg and Loucks set him up with assists.
Trailing 5-1 entering the third period, the Flyers battled to net back-to-back goals.
Kesic converted on a power-play goal two minutes into the final period courtesy of assists from Nicholas Johnsen and Tomassi. Lewis trimmed the deficit to two goals when Tomassi scored in the seventh minute off an assist from goaltender Sergey Markelov.
Engquist tallied his third goal on a power play in the 11th minute. Liggett and Veillet dished out assists on the play.
Conoboy cashed in on a power play, scoring the final goal for the Flyers during the 14th minute. Tomassi was credited with his second assist.
With a 6-4 lead, the Warriors slammed the door in the 17th minute as Loucks tacked on an insurance goal. Senior Jake Taylor provided the assist.
Senior goaltender Nicholas Carroll started for Waldorf, but exited due to an injury after Lewis scored its third goal. Junior Dustin Stevens came on to close out the final 13 minutes, 35 seconds.
Markelov tallied 32 saves for the Flyers while facing 39 shots.
The Warriors step away from conference play to host No. 17 University of Iowa in next weekend’s home-opening series at Albert Lea, Minnesota Waldorf, and the Hawkeyes hit the ice on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and conclude the series on Saturday at 2 p.m.