The men's hockey team opened up the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating rivals Davenport University 5-2 at Southside Ice Arena. The game was the first for the Saints since moving up to ACHA DI, and the win moves the Saints to 1-0 on the season. 

The Saints found themselves trailing just 11 minutes into the game when they gave up a shorthanded goal to the Panthers' Ian Thompson, but Aquinas would counter and find the equalizer with under two to go in the first period. Freshman Alex Klekotka scored his first goal as a Saint to make it 1-1, with assists coming from Ryan Wolfe and Brandon Rozema. 

Aquinas would take a 2-1 lead early in the second period, with Brandon Rozema netting a power-play goal. Klekotka and Trent Kulczyk had the helpers on the first of the season for the Saints' sophomore forward. Kletkotka made it 3-1 in favor of the home team with a power-play goal of his own less than five minutes later, with sophomore transfer Nick Long credited with an assist on the play for his first point as a Saint. Davenport cut the lead to 3-2 with another shorthanded goal midway through the period, but the Saints would regain their two-goal advantage when Long scored his first Saints goal with 3:24 left in the period.

Mike Curran would put the game out of reach for the Saints early in the third-period, scoring his first of the season at 16:33 with assists from Brandon Schwandt and Nick Stockert. The Saints' defense, backed by goalie Roman Malkov, shut the Panthers down for the final 30 minutes of play and helped Aquinas earn the 5-2 win. Malkov made 26 saves in net to earn the win. The Saints outshot the Panthers 40-28 on the night. The Panthers had 11 penalties for 25 minutes, with the Saints only taking five for 10 minutes. Aquinas converted 2-10 power plays on the night.

The Saints are back in action tomorrow at 6:00pm, this time at Davenport.