Courtesy of Midland Athletics
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Midland University made a second trip to Illinois in as many weeks as they took on Illinois State University in a two-game conference series on Friday and Saturday. The Warriors, who were victorious last weekend with two wins over Northern Illinois, didn’t fare as well on this trip. The Redbirds won 8-4 in the opener and 7-5 in the weekend finale. The losses drop Midland to 2-8-0 on the season, and to 2-2-0 in the Midwest College Hockey conference.
FRIDAY: Illinois State 8, Midland 4
The Warriors looked poised to continue their winning streak in the opener, taking a 2-0 lead through the first half of the first period. Zach Weber got things going with a goal from Kolten Wright at the 3:23 mark. Then, at the 10:13 mark of the first, it was Trevor Timm lighting the lamp with a goal assisted by Kamden Sengheiser.
Before the period could wind all the way down, the Redbirds got on the board with a power-play goal with 2:53 left on the clock. That score gave them momentum heading into the dressing rooms but it was Midland who came out firing in the second.
Just under 10 minutes into the second, Nick Novak scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-1 in favor of the Warriors. That lead was quickly made up as Illinois State took advantage of a power-play opportunity and scored at the 13:02 mark. They then evened the game score with their second of the period, less than a minute later at the 13:56 mark. Before the period ended, ISU netted two more goals to make it 5-3 after 40 minutes of action.
Midland attempted a comeback in the third. Coming out of the dressing room, they scored just over six minutes in as Fletcher Chun netted the fourth goal of the game. Picking up the assists were Tommy Wardas and Jack Royer.
The Redbirds’ defense clamped down after, pitching a shutout the final 13-plus minutes. Offensively, they picked up the pace. They got their sixth goal less than a minute after the Warriors’ score and then added two more down the stretch. They got a power-play goal at the 17:14 mark and then scored an empty-netter with 33 seconds on the clock.
Ondrej Patha and Nahuel Veyan both spent time in net for Midland. Patha was dealt the loss, surrendering 5 goals while picking up 19 saves in 36:46. Veyan played just over 20 minutes, had 6 saves, and allowed 2 goals.
SATURDAY: Illinois State 7, Midland 5
In the weekend finale, the offenses came out blazing for both teams in the first. Illinois State broke open the game sheet with a goal 26 seconds into the contest and added two more in the period. Midland matched its output with three goals of its own.
At the 5:08 mark, Tommy Wardas score his first of the game off assists from Logan Wotton and Fletcher Chun to tie the game at 1-1. Wotton put the Warriors ahead just before the midway point as he took a pass from Wardas and scored a short-handed goal at the 9:32 mark. Zach Eddington had the third goal of the period, coming off a power-play attempt. He was aided by Jared Wisely on the goal.
As exciting and high-scoring as the first period was, the second was the opposite. Neither team found the go-ahead goal but did spend some minutes in the penalty boxes. Midland was sent to the box three times while Illinois State had four visits.
In the final period, the Redbirds scored a short-handed goal to move ahead 1:16 in. Midland responded with a goal from Wardas, assisted by Wotton, at the 3:14 mark.
Illinois State then took advantage of a power-play chance, taking the lead with 13:32 to go. They would add two more goals, one via another power-play opportunity, to make it 7-4 with 3:22 to go.
Midland kept battling and got one goal back as Chun scored off assists from Cody Shearer and Zach Weber with 3:16 left. That would be all the scoring for the game as Illinois State came away with the 7-5 win.
Nahuel Veyan went the full-time in net. He had 29 saves on the night and was dealt the loss.
Midland (2-8-0) will look to start a new winning streak next weekend when traveling to North Dakota. It’ll be a tough task with two games against No. 4-ranked Jamestown (6-4-0) and a third against the University of Mary (16-1-0). The two-game series with the Jimmies will take place in Jamestown at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s game with the Marauders is set for a 2:00 p.m. start in Mandan.
