Two wins last week and the Saint Louis University club hockey team might have elevated itself to a playoff position. Instead, they lost twice.
The Billikens traveled to Arizona, facing No. 8 Arizona State on Thursday night and No. 6 Arizona, for a pair of games over the weekend. Only the top 12 teams in ACHA qualify for postseason. Entering last weekend, SLU was No. 17., the Billikens postseason hopes likely were thwarted.
SLU tied Arizona State 5-5 in the first contest. Trailing 4-1 midway through the second period, the Billikens knotted the score at 4, with two goals from Tim Niedbalski and a tally from Jon Zimmer.
ASU went ahead by one early in the third period, but Daniel Gauthier, netting his second goal to go with his two assists, scored SLU’s fifth goal. Neither team would strike again.
“It was basically a speed game,” coach John Bosch said. ” (The game) was played with a lot of intensity and a lot of speed. It took a lot of gas out of our tank.”
And they didn’t have time to refuel. The next night SLU battled Arizona, a noticeably better team, according to Bosch.
“You can tell the difference between a sixth-ranked team and an eighth-ranked team,” Bosch said.
SLU stayed with the bigger and quicker Wildcats for two periods, trailing 5-3 as the third period began. Then the Billikens lost their heads.
SLU took three penalties in the early minutes of the final period, giving Arizona a series of power plays. The Wildcats capitalized, scoring two quick power play goals, and then coasted to a 7-3 victory.
In the second game against Arizona, SLU was stonewalled by Wildcats keeper Jason Morgan. With Arizona leading 4-1, SLU forwards Dan Chadakhtzian and Elder each were stopped on breakaway attempts. Morgan finished with 26 saves, preserving Arizona’s 5-1 win.
“It was kind of a struggle coming back,” said Bosch. “A split (with Arizona) may have been able to push us in (the top 12). I think we gained a lot of respect. We proved we don’t belong in the 17th spot. We made a lot of good strides.”
SLU returns home this weekend, battling Lake Superior State Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3:15 p.m. The first game is at the U.S. Ice Sports Complex in Fairview Heights, Ill. The second game is at the St. Charles Family Arena.
“We want to finish out strong against Lake Superior,” Bosch said. “We’ve got a lot to look forward to. We’ve got four weeks of exciting hockey coming up.”
