Category | Sports

Club Sports Report

Published on September 23, 2008 by The Sentinel

    The KSU ice hockey team kicked off their home opener on Friday at 10 p.m. with a 16-1 win over UGA.

    The IceForum at Kennesaw was packed with enthusiastic fans who came out to support the home team. The last time these two teams met was in February when KSU came out on top with a 12–1 victory. This time UGA came into the game without several of their key players though.

    The Owls began to rack up the statistics early with forwards Dylan Morrison, Chris Koutnik and Rod Johnson scoring during the beginning of the first period. Defenders Brett Lester and Matt Howard also came through with goals of their own.

    “All of our lines really came together tonight,” Johnson said. “It was good for us to finally get a chance to gel together.”

    After keeping the pressure on UGA most of the period, the Bulldogs eventually capitalized on a breakaway opportunity from forward Tim McAfee as he beat the goalie Michael Porter.

    The new club president, Jimmy Barry, did not disappoint with a goal of his own and two assists in the first period. The Owls ended the first period with an 8–1 lead.

    Going into the second period, KSU continued to show the same intensity that they did in the first. Johnson got his third goal, thus earning him a hat trick within the first five minutes of the second period. Morrison and Koutnik also managed to add some more goals to their repertoire.

    “Rod [Johnson] had a huge game in terms of goal production,” said asst. coach Christopher Powers. “[It] seemed like every time he touched the puck he was putting it in the net.”

    With five minutes left to go in the second period, forward Jerry Holden set up Daniel Tari with a superb pass, upping the score to 12–1. Hunter Gahl contributed his first goal of the game by taking advantage of a loose puck from the Bulldogs goalie Elliot Slane.

    Much like the second period, the third began with a Johnson goal, his fourth of the night. The Owls added two more goals during the third period before the clock hit zero, beating UGA with a final score of 16–1.

    “I think were going to bury a lot of teams like that this year,” stated a confident Ricky Lirette.

    While the Owls put on a strong showing at home, they have some very tough games ahead of them when they hit the road to face Liberty University next week.

    “Liberty will be a real test especially from a conditioning standpoint,” said Coach Honeyman.

    Liberty has given the Owls problems in the past and they’re expected to be one of the most difficult teams on the schedule.

    “They’re going to be probably our best competition all year, so if we do well against them we will know where we stand,” Lirette said.

    The Owls are scheduled to face Liberty (D2) on Sept. 25 and Liberty (D1) twice on Sept. 26-27 in Lynchburg, Va.