DULUTH, Ga.– Club Ice Hockey opened their season on the road splitting their two game series against Georgia Tech at the Atlanta IceForum on Friday and Saturday.
The Owls opened their season with a 6-2 win on Friday, before falling 6-2 to the Yellow Jackets on Saturday.
The Owls saw themselves go down early after the Yellow Jackets scored a trio of goals in the first period from forward Jack Gawlik, forward Andy Hildrum and forward Keegan Goodell.
In the second period, a goal from forward Zach Keschner gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-0 lead, but a pair of goals from Owls forward Jayden Price quickly cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 4-2 by the start of the third period.
However, in the third period, the momentum would swing back in favor of the Yellow Jackets as a pair of goals from Gawlik would give him a hat trick on the evening’s action and give the Yellow Jackets a 6-2 lead that they would not surrender.
For the game, the Owls committed four minor penalties, with Owls players spending eight minutes of game time in the penalty box.
The Yellow Jackets were comparable in terms of penalty time, committing two minor and one major penalty as they spent nine minutes of game time in the penalty box.
Both teams looked to take advantage of power play opportunities throughout the game, however neither team was able to score a goal while their opponent was serving penalty time. While the Owls were able to score their game’s worth of goals in the second quarter, neither of these goals came during a 5-3 power play opportunity the Owls found themselves in, when Yellow Jacket players found themselves serving simultaneous two minute and five minute stints in the penalty box.
In this series, the Owls eight collective goals have been scored by seven different Owls players, showcasing an ability to share the wealth when it comes time to make a big play. This was exemplified in their season opening win, in which the last three of the Owls’ six goals came as a result of assists.
Owls goalie and alternate captain Connor Lakly totaled 35 saves for the game, while Yellow Jackets goalie and team captain Brendan Germano totaled 28 saves.
“We played well in parts and poorly in parts and that doesn’t go well,” Owls head coach Kyle Stevenson said. “We need to play a whole game.”
The Owls next matchup will be their home opening series in two weeks against Ole Miss on Oct. 18. and Oct 19.
“It’s early and tough to say, but I’m feeling pretty good about where we are right now,” coach Stevenson said. “With what we have with the new guys and leaders that we have coming up from last year, I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
