On October 11th and 12th, the Purdue Northwest D2 hockey team faced off against Aurora University in a two-game series, securing a sweep with two victories. The Pride dominated game one with a commanding 7-1 win and followed up with a 7-5 victory in game two.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (4-2), Aurora University (3-3)
• Location: Aurora Illinois/Hammond, Indiana
• Two Game Series

Game One
Inside the Numbers

• Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) led the Pride with three goals, contributing significantly to the team's offense.
• Colin Kozijn added two goals to the scoreboard.
• Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.) and Cameron Cederblom (Norrtalje, Sweden) each recorded two assists.
• Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo.) had a strong game with one goal and two assists.
• Savva Verbetskii (Ekaterinburg, Russia/) also scored a goal
• Rico Struckhoff (St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers College) played the full 60 minutes in goal, making 25 saves on 26 shots.
• Aurora goalie Skyler Coard played all 60 mins in goal making 47 saves on 53 shots.

The Breakdown

• The first period was all defense as each team remained scoreless.
• In the second period, Colin Kozijn opened the scoring for Purdue at 3:53 on the power play, assisted by Cameron Cederblom (Norrtalje, Sweden) and Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.). Later in the period, Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal at 14:45, with an assist from Dominic Suhr (Las Vegas, Nev.). The Pride extended their lead with another goal from Colin Kozijn at 15:41, assisted by Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Duncan McCourt (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community HS). 
• Aurora fought back early in the third period with a power-play goal by Brandon Alesia at 4:05, assisted by Max Lieberman and Tyler Schneeweis. However, The Pride responded quickly with a goal from Savva Verbetskii (Ekaterinburg, Russia/) at 7:10, assisted by Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Duncan McCourt (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community HS). 
• Purdue dominated the remainder of the third period as Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) completed his hat trick with goals at 10:07 and 19:20. The first was assisted by Cameron Cederblom (Norrtalje, Sweden) and Jt Verdino, while the second saw contributions from Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.) and Jt Verdino. 
• To seal the victory, Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo.) scored an empty-net goal at 19:58, with an assist from Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.), giving The Pride a decisive win.

 
Game Two
Inside the Numbers

• Savva Verbetskii (Ekaterinburg, Russia/) led the Pride offense with two goals.
• Zach Cestero (Estero, Fla.), Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.), Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.), Gabriel Santamaria (Guernsey, United Kingdom), and Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) each scored a goal for The Pride.
• Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.) also tallied two assists, while Jt Verdino, Dominic Suhr (Las Vegas, Nev.), Nate Cheney (St. Michael, Minn.), Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind.), Sean Curtin (Chicago, Ill./), and Adam Napravnik contributed assists to the team's efforts.
• The Pride's goaltender Rico Struckhoff (St. Louis, Mo./Christian Brothers College) made 22 saves on 27 shots during the game.
• Aurora goaltender Ryan Diaz faced relentless pressure, playing all 60 minutes and making 50 saves on 56 shots.

The Breakdown

• The Pride opened the game strong. Zach Cestero (Estero, Fla.) scored the first goal at 2:05, assisted by Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.). Later in the period, Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.) found the back of the net himself at 15:18, with assists from Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) and Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind.). Aurora University responded late in the period with a goal from Max Lieberman at 17:54, assisted by Liam Charlebois. 
• Aurora University came out fast in the second period, with Santino Grano scoring just 15 seconds in, assisted by Justin Lebouef. Shortly after, Luke Ballantyne added another goal at 1:09, with Liam Charlebois earning his second assist of the game. The Pride answered back midway through the period when Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.) scored at 8:32, assisted by Gabriel Santamaria (Guernsey, United Kingdom) and Sean Curtin (Chicago, Ill./). The period ended with a power-play goal by Gabriel Santamaria (Guernsey, United Kingdom) at 17:59, assisted by Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.) and Nate Cheney (St. Michael, Minn.). 
• The Pride extended their lead at 8:47 when Savva Verbetskii (Ekaterinburg, Russia/) scored, with assists from Nate Cheney (St. Michael, Minn.) and Adam Napravnik. Aurora pushed back as Brandon Alesia scored at 17:42, assisted by Liam Charlebois and Max Lieberman. Aurora quickly followed with another goal by Justin Lebouef at 18:11, assisted by Jonah Hart, tying the game. However, with just over a minute remaining, Savva Verbetskii (Ekaterinburg, Russia/) scored the game-winning goal at 18:57, assisted by Dominic Suhr (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Sam Snider (St. John, Ind.). The Pride sealed the win with an empty-net insurance goal by Blake Witkowski (Thompson, Conn.) at 19:56, assisted by Sean Curtin (Chicago, Ill./) and Jt Verdino. 

 
Up Next
The D2 hockey team hits the ice again on October 18, in Chicago, Illinois against Roosevelt University. The game time is TBA.