After dropping their opening two games to the DePaul Blue Demons this past weekend, Marquette Club Hockey still faces some demons of their own on the offensive end.
Marquette’s offense was stymied by the Blue Demons, scoring only three times during the two-game series this past weekend.
“DePaul is a very strong team and they capitalize on your mistakes,” head coach Will Jurgensen said. “We made some silly mistakes which cost us, but the guys are well aware of those mistakes, and we’re going to learn and get better from them.”
During Friday’s game, the Golden Eagles were neck and neck with DePaul, trailing 2-1 after the second period after an unassisted goal by sophomore forward Brian Kennedy. However, two third period goals by DePaul doomed Marquette, and the game ended 4-1 in favor of the team from Chicago.
In Saturday’s action, Marquette fell behind quickly and trailed 2-0 after the first period. The team fought hard in the second period, and junior forward Adam Bankovich scored off an assist from junior forward Corey Quinn. Jurgensen said the Golden Eagles dominated the second, but a DePaul goal late in the period stymied their momentum.
“We had the upper hand all period, but one mistake with 34 seconds left in the period and a DePaul goal really hurt us,” Jurgensen said.
The game ended in a 4-2 loss, putting the Golden Eagles at 0-2 to start the season.
One positive from the two game series was the play of sophomore goalkeeper Robby Arner, a player Jurgensen described as one of his impact players for the year.
“I thought Robby really played well in net this weekend,” Jurgensen said. “He made some huge saves in both games that really kept us in it and gave us a chance.”
Last season, the offense was the driving force of the team, so the team was disappointed that they were limited to just three goals all weekend.
“We haven’t had a lot of practice time before the season, unfortunately, so it’s too early to tell what our potential is going to be,” Arner said. “In the next few weeks we’ll get back into our rhythm and the lines will start clicking.”
The Golden Eagles now look forward to next weekend’s series against Robert Morris University’s White team, which eliminated Marquette from postseason contention last year. The two games will take place in Bensenville, Illinois, on Friday and Saturday.
