The Saginaw Valley State University hockey team hit the ice Jan. 17, where they took a 9-0 victory over the Rochester Christian University Warriors.
Pierce Ashcroft led the team in scoring for the night with one goal and two assists. Ethan Smith, Dawson Davis, Memfis Burgeson, Joe Blair, Seth Beagle, and Brycen Smith each registered one goal and one assist. Reece Furtado earned two assists, while Dylan Callan, Bryce Ronewicz, Cameron Barlass, Nicco Destefanis, and Max Pelletier earned one assist each.
Sophomore goaltender Nick Pike closed up shop with a 21-save shutout, his third of the season.
Mel Rettell, the newly appointed head coach, talked about his outlook for the remainder of the season.
“We’re not losing another game,” Rettell said. The offense, skill set, and mindset are all there, and “our number one goal is to get to nationals.”
The Cardinals started the period off on the right foot with a goal at 5:25 scored by forward E. Smith (12), assisted by Callan (3) and Davis (5). This extends E. Smith’s goal streak to three games. While the defense lacked in the second half of the period, the Cardinals were still able to keep the Warriors scoreless in the first.
Forward Davis (3), assisted by Ashcroft (5) and Burgeson (7), opened the scoring in the second period with a 3-on-5 powerplay goal at 1:46. Burgeson (5) quickly scored his own goal, assisted by E. Smith (9) and Ronewicz (5) with a 4-on-5 powerplay opportunity at 2:26 into the second period. Captain Blair netted his first goal of the season with a short-handed goal on Barlass’s (2) assist at 5:01 in the period. Hometown kid Simerson scored his first goal of the season in his home debut at 8:22, assisted by Furtado. Rochester Christian University remained scoreless after the second with a score of 5-0.
SVSU continued their hot streak into the third period. The first goal of the frame was scored by forward Beagle (5) with Destefanis (8) and Ashcroft’s (6) assist at 1:58 into the period. Simerson got his second goal of the game at 6:39. The Cardinal’s third goal of the third period came from B. Smith (14) off Beagle’s (8) pass at 8:56. The final goal of the game was scored by Ashcroft (9), assisted by B. Smith (12). A top-notch defensive effort allowed goaltender Pike to play a perfect 21-save game with a final score of 9-0.
Pike, the goaltender for the team, commented on his performance.
“It feels amazing,” said Pike on his third shutout of the season. “I’m just trying my absolute best to give our team the best chances possible, and so far, we’ve been getting it done.”
Pike continued, “We’ve been doing alright this season, but I feel for our second semester we have a lot to look forward to,” he stated. “We have [the] playoffs in the future. I think we have a really good chance at making things happen.”
SVSU will be back in action at Southside Ice Arena vs Aquinas College on Jan. 23. They return home to Saginaw Bay Ice Arena vs Aquinas College on Jan. 24.
Courtesy Photo | Saginaw Valley State Hockey Team
Carlie Smith 
Danielle Carlisi