The Marquette men’s club hockey team got off to a flying start, winning 7-0 and 11-4 in its weekend series on the road against Iowa. In coach Will Jurgensen’s debut, the Golden Eagles thrashed an Iowa defense that had no answer to any of Marquette’s lines.
Friday night, the team got a goal from all four forward lines. Senior Tyler Schwichtenberg came off last year’s 30-point season with two goals while five other players also scored. Jurgensen was pleased to see numerous players contribute to the rout.
“What was great to see was that we had 11 different guys show up on the score sheet Friday night, which again goes to show that all four lines and defensive pairings were playing great together,” Jurgensen said.
Saturday afternoon’s contest started where Friday left off, as Schwichtenberg scored his third goal of the weekend. During the entire trip, the Golden Eagles had 10 players score goals, with three players scoring at least two: Schwichtenberg and sophomores Will Podewils and Matt Poli.
The impressive weekend showing was also a positive opportunity for Jurgensen to get acclimated to his new role with the team. Jurgensen made his first appearance as coach, replacing Joe Cocking, who left after three seasons. The former club hockey captain and 2013 graduate could not have asked for a better start in his first season at the helm.
“I learned mostly how determined and focused our team is to accomplish our goals and continue to put Marquette hockey on the map on a national scale,” Jurgensen said. “I believe we have a lot of success in our future but that won’t come without continuous hard work each time we step on the ice.”
One problem Jurgenson had to deal with was the goaltender situation. Jurgensen planned to get experience for all three of his goalkeepers: freshman Robbie Arner, sophomore Alejandro Anderson and junior Thomas Place. Arner started Friday’s game and played the first 30 minutes, not giving up a single goal, while Anderson finished the game, completing the shutout.
Saturday, Place made his first appearance in goal and, following Friday’s situation, played the first 30 minutes, giving up one goal. Anderson made a return and finished the game, giving up three goals.
“All three guys showed promise this weekend and I still don’t have a defined one, two and three goalie to this point,” Jurgensen said. “They are all going to have to keep battling it out during practice, which only makes them better and the team better when all three guys are playing hard and making my decision difficult.”
Following the weekend sweep, the Golden Eagles will take on the Bradley Braves in their first home series of the season this weekend. Jurgensen views the opening game as a chance to show what his team is made of.
“I am incredibly excited to play our first game in front of the Marquette student body and encourage everyone in the Marquette community to come out and support their hockey team,” Jurgensen said. “I can promise that these guys will play very hard each night and make Marquette proud much like they have already made me proud as their coach in only a couple short weeks.”
