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MHKY: Warriors Sweep Home Series Against Northern Illinois

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Courtesy of Midland Athletics

FREMONT, Neb. – Coming off a tough road trip a week ago, Midland University rebounded with a series sweep over Northern Illinois University at home on Friday and Saturday. The Warriors edged the Huskies in the opener, 4-3, and then dominated their opponents in the finale, 6-3.

FRIDAY: Midland 4, Northern Illinois 3

A first-period power-play goal from Jack Olson got things going for the Warriors on Friday night. The goal, which came at the 14:32 mark came after a slashing call against the Huskies and was assisted by Jack Royer and Kolten Wright.

In the second period, Northern Illinois evened the game just past the midway point, scoring at the 13:16 mark. Less than three minutes later, Fletcher Chun knotted his first goal of the weekend of assists from Olson and Eddington.

The Warriors added a goal in the early stages of the third period as Zach Weber netted a shorthanded goal at the 4:52 mark. Killing a minor penalty, Trevor Timm found Weber on the breakout after a lengthy amount of time on the penalty kill.

With just over 10 minutes to go in the contest, the Huskies fired back with a goal of their own to narrow the deficit back to one. They would get whistled with a slashing call with 7:44 on the game clock, which led to a power play goal by the Warriors.

Eddington netted the eventual game-winner at the 13:44 mark as Logan Wotton and Jared Wisely picked up assists on the play. NIU attempted a late-game rally and was able to score once more, but ultimately ran out of time and energy down the wire.

Nahuel Veyan picked up the win in the net for Midland. He tallied 20 saves in net. The Warriors peppered his counterpart with 45 shots on net, scoring four goals.

SATURDAY: Midland 6, Northern Illinois 3

In the weekend finale, the Warriors came out of the dressing room focused on fundamental hockey. The precise skating and passing led to four first-period goals. Jack Olson netted the first one off an assist from Jack Royer and Ryan Donovan. The trio connected on the power-play score at the 2:19 mark.

Just over two minutes later, Donovan scooped up a loose puck in front of the Huskies’ goalie and flipped it into the back of the net.

Northern Illinois would get on the board midway through the period as they converted on a power-play chance at the 13:11 mark. Midland responded with a score a the 15:06 mark as Cody Shearer put the puck in the net off a feed from Nick Novak and Trevor Timm.

Fletcher Chun closed out the first period scoring as he netted a goal at the 16:31 mark off assists from Shearer and Jared Wisely.

In the second period, only one goal found its way past the last line of defense. With less than a minute off the clock, Logan Wotton lit the lamp to put Midland up 5-1. Wisely and Royer were credited with the assists.

In the third, the penalties started to pile on for the home team which led to opportunities for the Huskies. NIU was able to score two power-play goals in the period, one at the 6:35 mark and the other at the 13:17 mark. In between the scores, Chun scored his second goal of the night and third of the weekend. Wotton and Zach Eddington picked up apples on the goal.

Nahuel Veyan earned the victory in net for the Warriors. He netted 37 saves on the night. The shots on net were in favor of the visitors at 40 to 37.

“It was good to get the sweep this weekend,” commented head coach Jan Dam. “We didn’t play our best on Friday but were able to clean things up and played much better on Saturday. It is a credit to our veterans on the team. They have taken the reins of the team and have been great leaders. Their leadership on and off of the ice has been nice to see. We’re in a much better spot now than when we started the season. The ‘buy-in’ from all of the guys is evident and we look to build on these wins next week at McKendree.”

Midland (5-17) will be on the road to O’Fallon, Illinois next weekend to face McKendree (7-11). They’ll drop the puck at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, January 28, and at 11:45 a.m. inside the McKendree Metro Rec Plex.

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