Hawkeyes sweep Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Win on senior night

Written by, Travis Hufford

The Hawks took on Southern Illinois over the weekend, winning both games including the game on senior night.

11/22: On Friday, the Hawks beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 6-3.

In the first period, Southern Illinois got on the board first, but Iowa quickly tied the game on a goal from Zach Lupori with assists going to Jake Carlson and Ryan Carlson. Roughly 5 minutes later, Southern Illinois struck again to make it a 2-1 game. With 1:52 remaining in the first period, the Hawkeyes tied the game at 2 with a goal from Kevin Horan, assisted by Nathan Springberg and Jake Vennetti. The period ended in a 2-2 tie with Iowa having a 24-11 edge in the shot column.

In the second period, both teams were scoreless. Iowa outshot SIUE 22-8 for a two-period total of 46-19.

In the third period, SIUE scored first to make it a 3-2 game. Iowa quickly tied the game at 3 with a goal from Jake Carlson with Matt Wilson and Kevin Horan picking up the assists. Jake Carlson scored again, this time unassisted, to give Iowa a 4-3 lead. 32 seconds after Carlson’s goal, Brody Brenczewski scored to give Iowa a 5-3 lead. Nathan Springberg and Zach Knudson received credit for the assists on the goal. Jake Carlson finished of his hattrick as well as the scoring for Iowa with a goal late in the third period. Kevin Horan picked up the assist on the final goal. The final score was 6-3 in favor of Iowa. Iowa outshot SIUE 35-16 in the third period for a game total of 81-35.

Top Players of the Game

Jake Carlson: 3G, 1A, 4P

Kevin Horan: 1G, 2A, 3P

Nathan Springberg: 0G, 2A, 2P

Ryan Iaciancio: 33sv, 3GA, .914sv%

11/23: On Saturday, the team celebrated senior night for seniors Devin Decker, Mike Fontana, Spencer Lhotka, Nick Norby, Jonathan Paunove, and Nathan Springberg. Iowa came away with a 9-2 win over SIUE.

In the first period, Iowa scored 4 unanswered goals. The first goal was scored by Jake Carlson, assisted by Jake Vennetti and Liam Cound. The second goal came from Jake Vennetti with Liam Cound picking up another assist. The next goal was scored by Zach Lupori, assisted by Matt Wilson. Matt Wilson finished off the scoring in the period with a goal that came with just 3 seconds remaining in the period. Zach Knudson picked up the assist on the goal. Iowa took a 4-0 lead with them to the dressing room after 20 minutes of play. Shot totals after the first period were 37-7 in favor of Iowa.

In the second period, SIUE got on the board first to make it a 4-1 game. Iowa later responded with a powerplay goal from Jake Carlson, assisted by Ryan Carlson and Nick Norby. Nick Norby scored another powerplay goal for Iowa to make it a 6-1 game. Zach Lupori and Ryan Carlson picked up the assists. After 2 periods Iowa held a 6-1 lead and had a 56-17 edge in the shot department.

In the third period, Iowa struck first with a goal from Devin Decker, assisted by Brody Brenczewski. 46 seconds later Iowa scored again on a goal from Jake Vennetti, assisted by Kevin Horan. SIUE interrupted the Iowa scoring with a goal to make it an 8-2 game. Matt Wilson capped off the scoring with a goal a little under halfway through the period. The goal was assisted by Ryan Carlson. Iowa finished the game with a 9-2 win on senior night. Congratulations to all the seniors.

Regarding this year’s senior class, Coach Brooks said, “This class has been instrumental in building the culture we now have as a program. They bought in from day one and everyone has followed their lead. When you have a group that is as dedicated and passionate as they are, the rest falls into place. As a coach I have been very blessed and lucky to have a group of seniors like this. I am very excited to see where this group takes the team this season.”

Top Players of the Game

Jake Vennetti: 2G, 1A, 3P

Matt Wilson: 2G, 1A, 3P

Ryan Carlson: 0G, 3A, 3P

Ryan Iaciancio: 28sv, 2GA, .933sv%