Kent State hockey sweeps Oswego State with comeback victory

Kent State and John Carroll players fight over the puck during a 9-2 Flashes’ victory at the KSU Ice Arena on Jan. 19, 2018. [FILE]

Morgan Dunlop

The Kent State club hockey team improved to 5-1 this weekend with wins against Oswego State, with a comeback win Friday in Oswego, New York.  

The Flashes were down, 3-0, late in the second period before getting on the board with three straight goals to tie the game.

“We ran into a string of penalties in the second period after we were down, 3-0,” coach Jim Underwood said. “Once we were able to get back to 5-on-5, we relied on the energy. The key goal was when we were down, 3-1. That one kind of tilted the ice in our favor.”

Junior forward Sean Moore got his 100th career point this weekend, contributing to his team’s victory.

“It feels great,” Moore said. “I could not have done it without my teammates. It also felt great to get the comeback win. We did not play well during the first, and it was nice to finally pick up the pace and get the victory.”

The Flashes went on to pull away and win by a final score of 7-4.

Senior assistant captain John Buttitta was satisfied with the team’s come-from-behind win.

“I am really pleased with the boys being able to come back,” Buttitta said. “We had our chances the whole game, but they finally started to go in in the third period. We were not happy that we had to dig our way back into the lead, but we are happy we were able to figure it out.”

“Sometimes you can start well and pucks just don’t go in,” sophomore forward Xavier Sudlow said. “We just stayed the course and battled hard. Nicholas Mizen played great in net to bail us out and give us that chance to come back and win.” 

The Flashes won 3-1 on Saturday to complete the away sweep.

“Play simple and play as a team, and we are going to be good,” freshman Justin Bioni said. “We just have to stick to our game and not give up, and we are going to be solid.”

Underwood was happy with the way his team performed on the road. 

“To go on the road and get two wins is really big for us,” Underwood said. “A lot of our offense is generated through power plays. Our power play so far is working well.”

Although the team has started off the season winning five of their six games, Underwood said there is still room for improvement.

The Flashes are back in action Friday, Oct. 19 at 8:15 p.m. at Calvin College for their first league game of the season.

Morgan Dunlop is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].