O’FALLON, Ill. – Midland University made the journey to the St. Louis metro for a two-game series with McKendree University. The teams needed extra time and a shootout on Saturday, with the Bearcats edging the Warriors 4-3. On Sunday, the home team caught fire in the second and rolled to an 8-2 win.
McKendree 4, Midland 3 (Shootout)
In the series opener, the Warriors were the first to score as Logan Wotton netted a goal at the 5:36 mark off a pass from Zach Eddington. The Bearcats would not only get the goal back, scoring on a power-play chance at the 10:08 mark but would take the lead with less than two minutes before the intermission.
Fifteen minutes into the second, Kolten Wright took a pass from Kamden Sengheiser and pushed it past the goalie to even the game. McKendree would respond with a late goal at the 18:11 mark and took a 3-2 lead into the final intermission.
Midway through the third period, Ryan Donovan found the back of the net to tie the score once more. Eddington and Wright assisted on the goal that would send the game into an extra period.
After neither team was able to score in the five-minute overtime, the game went to a shootout. The Bearcats were able to net each of their first two shots while the Warriors were stymied on their chances.
Nahuel Veyan suffered the shootout loss despite picking up 31 saves in goal. McKendree’s goalie saw 48 shots, saving 45 for the win.
McKendree 8, Midland 2
The momentum of the win on Saturday spilled over into the weekend finale as McKendree scored twice in the first six minutes to set the tone. Midland mounted a comeback attempt with two goals in the second but each time they found the back of the net, the Bearcats had an answer.
Logan Wotton scored at the 10:10 mark off assists by Zach Eddington and Fletcher Chun to make it a 2-1 game. McKendree quickly struck for four straight scores before Midland could get on the board again.
Ryan Donovan got the second goal of the game, scorning off an assist from Kolten Wright at the 18:47 mark.
In the final period, two more pucks found their way into the back of the net as the Bearcats rolled to the big win.
Nahuel Veyan played just over 31 minutes in net, surrendering five goals while saving 15 shots. Ondrej Patha came on in relief, allowing three goals and stopping 16 shots as he finished the game in net for Midland.
Midland (5-19) will return home for their next four games. They’ll host No. 12 Illinois State (22-5) on February 3-4. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights inside Sidner Ice Arena.
