Cougars Sweep Loyola; Stun SLU 3-1

 The SIUE Cougars Gold had a big 3 game weekend in front of them, hosting a pesky Loyola University squad who has played well as of late, and finishing a home at home series with St. Louis University in Webster Groves, MO. Aside from allowing the first goal on Friday, the Cougars put together 3 solid 60 minute games, with everyone from 1st line forwards down to both Luke Venker and Brandon Becker making key contributions in route to a 3 win weekend.

  Loyola jumped out to an early lead in Game 1 on Friday, converting on an odd-man break beating Cougar goaltender Brandon Becker to his right 2 minutes into the opening tilt. The Red Line, composed of brothers Mike and Tim Dolan and veteran Dan Guarino, responded with 2 goals getting SIUE on top 2-1. T.J. Henson pounded home a rebound at the 9:08 mark of the 1st, extending the lead to 2. Loyola's Jonathan Skellaropoulos kept the game close in a penatly free first period, one-timing a goal off of an odd carrom off of the end boards to Becker's left, to make the game 3-2 after the 1st. The 2nd period saw much of the action in the Loyola zone, as SIUE poured on 21 shots in the middle frame. Mike Dolan (PP), Traig Henson, and John Wright (SH) all scored in the second period extending the Cougar lead to 6-2. Alex Edwards beat Loyola goalie Ben Archer to open up the 3rd period. Loyola's Matt McDonnell scored on the power play, but that wouldnt interrupt the Cougar momentum, as Kendall Price would tip in a Kyle Sullivan shot on the man-advantage, giving the Cougars the eventual 8-3 win.

Game 2 was more of the same from the Cougars, as they topped Loyola 9-1 in Game 2. The Yellow line (Ippolito, Price, A. Edwards) combined for 4 of the Cougars 9 tallies in game 2. Cory Beck (2), Adam Gernigin, Ryan McTigue, and Captain Mike Dolan also scored for the Cougars. Luke Venker saw a healthy amount of rubber, stopping 44 of 45 shots for the win, his shutout bid ending 5 minutes into the 3rd.

 AE Nets 2 in Victory over SLU

The Cougars traveled to Webster Groves, MO to cap off the MACHA Gold series against SLU. In their previous battle on Veteran's Day, SIUE won 11-4, scoring 8 goals in 8 minutes in the 3rd period. Sunday would be a much lower scoring affair, as both SIUE and SLU were coming off of series' of their own. Tim Dolan would score on a Dan Guarino rebound, 1:25 into the game, giving SIUE the 1-0 advantage. Alex Edwards continued his hot play by burying a one time feed from Kendall Price by SLU goalie Trey Spiller, putting the Cougars up a pair 5 minutes into the first frame. SLU's Phil Blackwood would get the Billikens on the board, scoring on a breakaway past Brandon Becker. From this point forward, goals would come at a premium, as both Becker and Spiller stood tall between the pipes.

The remaining 2 periods had great a great flow of action, as only 3 penalties were assesed from the 2nd period to the remainder of the tilt. Solid offensive pressure by all 4 lines, kept the puck in the SLU zone, and when the Billikens countered they could not solve Becker, who made 34 of 35 saves. With 4 minutes remaining, Becker made a right leg save moving from the right post to his left, maintaining a 2-1 lead. Alex Edwards eased the minds of the Cougar faithful in attendance by scoring an empty net goal with :45 left on the clock. The Cougars now sit at 10-2-1-1 with 2 pivotal games left against #12 Iowa, who has been surging as of late.

Cougars Maul #13 Ice Bears, Get 3 of 4 pts in Series

 The SIUE Cougars Gold squad had much motivation going into the weekend set against #13 Missouri State. The unranked 12-2-1 Cougars squad have been left out by the ranking committee, as their strength of schedule is thought to be too weak to be put in the top 15. In addition, The Gold team hadn't beaten the Ice Bears since sweeping them in the early 06-07 season. The Cougars needed to make a statement, and after getting the rust off in the first 10 minutes of Game 1, they did just that.

 SIUE came out of the gate slow in the opening tilt, making mutiple unforced turnovers in the defensive zone, creating scoring opportunities and power play time for the Ice Bears. C.J. Jung squeaked in his first goal at the 13:36 mark of the first period, followed by a 5 on 3 power play tally by Dave Schroeder, which got past a screened Brandon Becker to take a 2-0 lead midway through the first. At this point in the 1st, the Cougars were outshot 11-3. They would get the engines going late in the first, countering with 9 shots of their own only to be outshot 13-12 after 1. Geoff Grimes got the home team on the board first (Cory Beck and John Wright assisting) beating Mike Poepping between the legs. That would be all of the scoring in the 2nd period, but the Cougars set the tone, outshooting the Ice Bears 17-6 in the 2nd. SIUE didn't skip a beat in the third, as Tim Dolan scored set up by brother Mike Dolan and Wright, tying the game at 2. Timmy D would get the Cougars the lead beating Poepping to his left on a pipe-snipe from the slot, to put the Cougars up 1 with 13:58 remaining in regulation. Missouri State would never say die, as Bryan Beaman tied the game at 3 with 5:11 remaining. While the Cougars outshot the Ice Bears again, this time by an 18-7 count, they would need an extra 5 minutes to finsh this game. Missouri State would capitalize on a SIUE turnover at the blue line, and Beaman beat Becker on a breakaway getting Missouri State the extra point. The Cougars out shot the Ice Bears 47-27 overall.

'Tender Tantrum Costs Ice Bears in Game 2

 The Boys in Black dominated the 50 of 61 minutes in game 1, only to get 1 point with an overtime loss. Knowing they could play better, SIUE came out firing, from the drop of the first puck all the way to the final buzzer at the end of the game. They knew that this could be their game as long as they could bury 2nd chance opportunities, as they laid around Ice Bear netminder Mike Poepping all game long in game 1. In that game however, the Cougars would either him in the chest with the 2nd shot, or shoot wide or hit the pipe, which seemed to be a second goalie for Missouri State in game 1.
 The Cougars would own the opening frame, out shooting the Ice Bears 28-7 in the first, but only scored once as Kendall Price buried a rebound from Mike Poepping on the power play to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead after 1.
  Mitch Leonard would score 4 on 4 at 8:45 in the middle frame, tying the game in a period filled with special teams play, with a combined 43 shots from both teams, 22 shots off SIUE sticks and even more missing the net.
 Poepping, selected to the ACHA Select team over Winter Break, had stymied the Cougars throughout the last 100 minutes of play, stopping 93 of 97 shots in the last 5 periods. He, the Ice Bear's greatest strength, turned into a double-edged sword in the 3rd. The Cougars continued to pour it on in the 3rd, not letting yet another lead go to the wayside against an always resilient Missouri State squad. Mid-way through the final frame, Cougar forward Tim Dolan, set up by brother Mike and Dan Guarino, came streaking down the slot and sniped Poepping blocker side, putting SIUE up 1. Enraged from his mistake, Poepping, with sportsmanship only seen in Happy Gilmore, launched his stick over the high glass to his left, testing the durablity of the ceiling support beams, and giving the Cougars another 2 minute man-advantage. Kendall Price would set up in front of the net and after 2 rebounds, burned a backhand shot past the penalized Poepping, putting the Cougars up 2. Yet again, the Ice Bear netminder took it upon himself to shoot the puck at Price, who beat him the second time for the eventual game winner. Poepping recieved another unsportsmanlike penalty, but looked as if he needed to sit in time-out. While the Cougars would not score on this power play, they did knock down 2 minutes off of the clock, preventing an early comeback.
 Andy Draper would get the Ice Bears within a goal with 4:38 remaining, but the damage was already done. Alex Edwards finished off the game with a wrap-around empty net goal, from John Wright and Brandon Becker. Becker would stop 35 of 37 shots for the win, in addition to the Edwards helper.

Silver Gets 1st ever sweep against Wildcats

 The Road seems to be a second home for the SIUE Silver squad, as going into the weekend series against Northwestern, they have amassed a 3-1 record away from the East Alton Ice Arena. Game 1 saw the Cougars play a less than stellar effort, yet come away with a 6-4 victory. Kyle Dickinson scored twice and Spencer Seggebruch also added 1 in the victory. David Borre would notch his 2nd win this season with a 41 save effort.

Game 2 had the Cougars leading after the first as Nick Costillo and Jay Albers both scored down a man, taking a 2-1 period into the middle frame. 2 goals from Dickinson and 1 from Seggebruch weren't enough, as Northwestern would get 4 of their own going into the 3rd Period. Those would be the last Wildcat tallies, as Dickinson and Seggebruch would each score once more, and Chris Brammeier cap off an 8-5 Cougar victory as he would net a 180 foot goal which would bounce past the Northwestern netminder. Dan Shinn collected his 4th win of the year, stopping 33 shots.

 

Cougars Redeem Themselves, Get Split with #6 ISU

  The SIUE Cougars went into Friday's late night tilt on an 8-game unbeaten streak, hoping to carry the momentum of that against a highly touted Illinois State- Redbird team, currently ranked #6 in the Central Region. That momentum only gets a team as far as the first puck drop however, as the Redbirds would take the series opener 3-0. This game was very evenly played, but where ISU exceled was on the special teams, killing off all 4 SIUE power plays, and tallying on one of their own. ISU scored once in each period, the first coming shortly after an ISU power play, as James Cioffi buried a one timer from the low slot. The Redbirds doubled their lead with a power-play tally, a rebound goal pounded home by Eric Brown. Attention to detail also hurt the Cougars, as careless turnovers created various odd man opportunities for the opposition, and resulted in the final goal of the game, a 2-on-1 which Brown tapped home to end the scoring with an ISU 3-0 victory. Steve Somerfield shutout the Cougars, stopping all 25 shots he faced. Brandon Becker played outstanding, stopping 27 of 30 Redbird blasts, about half of which were of high quality, keeping the Cougars in the game until the final buzzer.

 The Cougars would go into Game 2 knowing full well that they could play with the 6th ranked squad, but just needed to capitalize on their opportunities. ISU would start the game as they did in Game 1 getting on the board with the first two tallies, the first coming off of a strange carrom from the end boards to Becker's left, bouncing off of Becker's arm, and sitting just inches away from the goal line for it to be tapped home by Jon Luevano. The second, as in Game 1, came on the power play, this time coming off of the stick of Mike McKeague, putting ISU up 2.

  The second period saw the Cougars firing on all cylinders and forcing their will upon ISU, playing with controlled chaos, led by the Gray line consisting of Geoff Grimes, Bret Edwards, and Silver Callup Brandon Janczak. The Cougars would score 2 goals 1:12 apart, and adding a third just 3 minutes later. Tim Dolan would score first for the Cougars with a little help from the ISU defense, banking a shot off a defender's skate in front of netminder Evan Casas. Traig Henson tied the game at 2 with a howitzer of a shot, beating Casas on the far side. Kendall Price scored for the first time in nearly a month, picking off an ISU pass and firing a snap-shot past Casas, giving the Cougars a 3-2 lead. Traig Henson would add his second goal while short-handed, completely undressing ISU defenseman Justin Brown, and getting Casas to move to his left with a deke, then brought the puck back to his forehand, and slid the puck into the empty cage with what could have been the hockey equivelant of a finger-roll. The Cougars outshot ISU 25-8 on the period, their most dominant since Veteran's Day against SLU.

 Jared Ippolito would get the Cougars rolling early in the third, as they would finally solve Somerfield, who replaced Casas to start the final frame. Down 5-2, the play became chippy, as ISU would try and get the Cougars in the box in an attempt to get back in the game. One such instance occured as Bret Edwards was josseling for position with ISU winger Vinny Senese. Senese was tapped by the stick of Edwards prior to the faceoff, and dropped like Greg Louganis from the high dive, falling head first like US Olympian did in '88. Although Senese didn't stick the landing, the men in stripes penalized Edwards for unsportsmanlike conduct. ISU would not score on this man advantage, but it would set the tone for a Redbird comeback. McKeague would pull the Redbirds within 2, scoring as the Redbirds would control the puck in the zone after the power play expired. Eric Brown netted his 3rd of the weekend, cutting the lead in half with just over 1 minute remaining. A resilient Redbird squad could not get the puck past the Cougar defense, as they collectively blocked 4 shots in the last :30, 3 from bearded defenseman Jake Niccum, to get the split. Brandon Becker stopped 39 of 43 shots, including 21 in the 3rd, many of which were timely, game saving stops, keeping the Cougars ahead and eventually getting the win.

 Series History

• Since ISU moved into the Gold tier in 07-08, the series is tied at 3-3
• 4 of the 6 games have been decided by 1 goal
  • ['07-08] 4-3 OT SIUE, 5-4 ISU
  • ['08-09] 8-4 SIUE, 7-6 ISU
  • ['09-10] 3-0 ISU, 5-4 SIUE
• Dan Guarino, the active Cougar with the most points against ISU (4G + 3A = 7pts in 4 GP) did not play in either tilt.

Silver Drops 2 against Missouri State

In Game 1, Missouri State got on the board first with an Alex Chancey goal midway through the first period. The Cougars were out played for the majority of the 1st period, although coming to life with in the last 5 minutes in the opening period, with the shots 14-11 favoring MSU.

Aaron Dalton would get on the board early in the first to tie the game at 1, only for the Ice Bears to regain the lead 1 minute later on a Jack Barrett goal. MSU would score the next 2 goals, 1 on the power play after Nick Costillo was given a 5 miute major for kneeing, the other at even strength, increasing their lead to 4-1. 49 seconds after took a 3 goal lead, Dalton again would beat Brian Mueller, getting the Cougars within 2. MSU would score last in the middle frame, as both teams went to the locker rooms with the scoreboard showing a 5-2 Ice Bear advantage.

In the final period, the Cougars would strike with a Jay Albers goal with 8:45. Maintaining this momentum through the last period, Aaron Dalton would score on the Power Play with just 45.8 seconds to play, putting the Cougars within 1. Missouri State would put the final nail in the coffin, scoring an empty netter with 4.5 seconds remaing to win the game 6-4.

SIUE couldn't get it going in Game 2, losing 9-2, with Brandon Janczak and Aaron Dalton (SH) scoring for the Cougars. The Cougars would be outshot 56-28, as only a handful of players could find their game on Saturday. This Silver team was in a spot to claim the #1 position in the South Division, prior to this weekend's games. Now the Cougars have put themselves in a hole, and will be fighting for a playoff spot with 6 remaining Conference battles against Missouri - Black, Bradley, and RMU-Springfield, teams also trying to claw their way into a playoff position.

Gold Sweeps Marquette Before Thanksgiving Break

The SIUE Gold team took to the ice against a Marquette University squad this past weekend at the East Alton Ice Arena. The Cougars looked to build upon a 4-0 all-time record against the Eagles, and to no one's surprise, would do so in blowout form.

  Game 1 started with a bang for the Cougars as Adam Gernigin, Jared Ippolito, and Cory Beck would get SIUE out on top 3-0 mid way through the first period. Ken Javor interrupted Brandon Becker's nap at the other end of the ice, as he notched the sole Marquette goal, off of a rebound to Becker's right. Cougar's Beck and Tim Dolan would add 2 more, giving the the home team a 5-1 lead after 1. The Cougars would tickle the twine 3 more times off of the sticks of Alex Edwards, Tim Dolan and Ryan McTigue to finish the game with an 8-1 victory. Marquette Goaltender Steve Dreher came in relief of starter RJ Bennett (5 goals on 16 shots), and kept the game as close as he could stopping 47 of 50 in 2 periods of play.

Game 2 would start in much the same way the first one ended, as the Cougars would outshoot Marquette 25-5, but only tallied once on a Tim Dolan goal, going into the locker room at a 1-1 standstill.

The Cougars were left puzzled as to why they couldn't finish, but after the ice was cleaned for the second frame, the floodgates opened. The boys in red opened up the period with 2 within 49 seconds of the opening puck drop. Brothers Mike and Tim Dolan traded goals, followed by a wormburner goal from the blue line of the stick of Abram Henson, the first goal in his SIUE campaign. Geoff Grimes, Dan Guarino, Mike Dolan, Andy Stratton, Cory Beck, and Alex Edwards would all scorch the back of the net, combining for 9 consecutive 2nd period goals for SIUE, ending the period with a 10-2 lead.

Period 3 featured defensive scoring and the finishing touch of a hat-trick. Adam Gernigin scored his first of the game, which was followed by Kyle Sullivan's first goal since high school, as his rocket gave SIUE a 12-3 lead. Tim Dolan would end the scoring on a breakaway to notch his 3rd of the game, giving the Cougars a 13-3 W. Scott Cloin was behind the bench for the weekend, marking his first sweep since the Bush presidency.

Quick Hits

• The Cougars are 11-0-1 in games in which Mike Dolan gets at least 1 point
• The Cougars have been dominant in the 3rd Period, outscoring their opponents 42-10
• Cory Beck has scored in 7 consecutive games (11 goals, 10 assists = 21 points)
• Mike Dolan has a point in 8 consective games (11 goals, 10 assists = 21 points)
• In 11 games played, the Cougars Defensemen have collectively eclipsed their offensive output from last year (08-09: 1G, 30A, 31 Pts; 09-10: 6G, 24A, 32 Pts)

Cougars Impail Billikens 11-4; Vet Niccum Nets 1

 The Veteran's Day game between the SIUE Cougars and the St. Louis University Billikens would mark the midpoint of each team's conference schedule, and could very well be the turning point to a season. SLU needed a win to stay in the mix with the top 4 teams in the Gold division; SIUE needed the points to keep their sights set on that #1 spot.

SIUE would open up the scoring with a Dan Guarino goal from the Dolan bros 1:23 into the game. Although scoring first, SLU would carry the play for the majority of the period, firing the next 11 consecutive shots at Cougar netminder Brandon Becker. SLU would tie up the game on a 5-3 off of the stick of MACHA All-Star Ryan Wood, but the Cougars would answer with a Geoff Grimes bar-down blast on a 2 on 1 2 minutes later. 3 minutes after that, Brad Keenan would put the Cougars up 2 with a rebound goal, chasing Billiken netminder Trey Spiller. The Keenan goal ended the scoring for the period, but the Billikens would outshoot the Cougars 21-9 after 1.

Eager to start the middle stanza, the Billikens would waste no time scoring in the second, as Phil Blackwood would tap in a rebound goal :19 into the 2nd. The score would remain 3-2 for the rest of the period, although the Cougars would lose Freshman sparkplug Brad Keenan to a lower-body injury, coming off of a nasty neutral ice collision. While SIUE didn't get on the board, signs of life came from the Cougar Bench as they out shot SLU 16-7 in period 2.

The 3rd period was a frantic one, as SLU would get ample opportunities to not only tie but take the lead on Cougar penalties. The Billikens would eventually tie the game nearing the end of a Cougar 5-3 on a 3rd rebound by Tyler Tesson. Upon scoring that goal, the Billliken Backup Jason Magusiak, celebrated to the 10 SLU faithful who came to the game, fists pumping, legs kicking to the crowd, just knowing that SLU would rebound from a 3-1 deficit. What he didn't know was that in the next 10 minutes, SLU would be entering a hailstorm of offense, a proverbial World of Pain, the likes of which haven't been seen since the days of the Legion of Doom with Sean Walls, Current Silver Coach Jason Walker, and the St. Louis Connection composed of Matt Kaiser, Austin Jones, Jason Peniciaro and John Greffet. Flashbacks of a team that in 1 game, had out scored a SLU D2 team 18-0, out shooting them 106-1, domination in its purest form.

Shots poured from anywhere and everywhere finding the back of the net for the next 3 minutes as the Cougars would score the next 5 goals (the first 3 within :38) from Adam Gernigan, Mike Dolan, Alex Edwards, Jared Ippolito, and Dan Guarino. It was almost as if for 3 minutes the Cougars got to play the Twin Bridges Mite House team with no goalie. Phil Blackwood would add his second, amidst a crowd still catching up on cheers from 3 SIUE goals before his. SIUE would not be denied in the 3rd, tallying 3 more goals from Kendall Price (PP), Cory Beck, and the last being the ultimate way to finish a Veterans Day game, with Jake Niccum finding paydirt on the Power Play.

Niccum, a chemical weapons specialist, served 2 Tours of Duty to the Middle East before starting his tenure at SIUE. Only the final buzzer, which at this point sounded like the Cougar Goal horn, could stop the boys in red from adding more offense.

In the 3rd Period alone, SIUE would score 8 goals on 20 shots, those 8 goals coming within the last 8:28 to play in the 3rd. Brandon Becker played a stellar game between the pipes, stopping 39 of 43 SLU shots, many of which thwarted a SLU power play.

Quick Hits

• The Cougars are 8-0-1 in games in which Mike Dolan gets at least 1 point
• The Cougars have been dominant in the 3rd Period, outscoring their opponents 37-9
• Cory Beck has scored in 5 consecutive games (8 goals, 6 assists = 14 points)
• Mike Dolan has scored in 6 consective games (9 goals, 5 assists = 14 points)
• In 11 games played, the Cougars Defensemen have collectively eclipsed their offensive output from last year (08-09: 1G, 30A, 31 Pts; 09-10: 6G, 24A, 32 Pts)