Lewiston, N.Y. — The Aquinas men's hockey team is back in the win column for the first time since Nov. 4, 2022, following a 7-5 victory over No. 11-ranked Niagara on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) at the Dwyer Ice Arena in Lewiston, N.Y.
The Saints (8-9) ended their five-game losing skid by scoring five goals in the second period to break open the second game of road series against the Purple Eagles (9-7). Niagara made things interesting with three goals in the third period, but the Saints held on for a 7-5 victory.
The contest got off to a fast start with both team scoring in under three minutes.
Dylan Rumpke got the Saints off and running with his team-leading 15th goal of the season.
Darren Johnson and
Brandon Rozema provided the assists.
Halfway through the opening period, Rozema notched another assist when
Mason Stewart broke the deadlock to give AQ a 2-1 lead. The Saints' lead held up through the end of the period, but Niagara equalized at the start of the middle frame.
However, from that point on, the floodgates opened for the Saints.
Rumpke assisted Johnson with 16 minutes left in the second period to help AQ regain the lead at 3-2. Four minutes later, Rozema picked up his third assist of the game on a goal by
Gustav Ostman.
Ostman, a freshman from Lidinso, Sweden, then went on a goal scoring spree to notch his first collegiate hat trick as he scored AQ's next two goals. Ostman entered Saturday's affair with only three goals in 12 games played this season. He scored three goals in roughly seven minutes on Saturday.
Christian Look,
Shane DiTullio and
Mitchell Hoon were credited with assists on Ostman's last two goals.
Ostman then earned his fourth point of the night on Johnson's second goal of the game with two minutes left in the second period. Rumpke got the second assist to give him four points for the game as well (one goal, three assists). Rumpke leads the Saints with 32 points this season.
Niagara stormed back with three goals in the third period, but Aquinas had built up enough of a cushion to withstand the Purple Eagles' outburst.
The Saints return to action next weekend (Dec. 9-10) at the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Tournament being held at the Eagles Ice Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. Aquinas, Davenport, Calvin and Grand Valley State will be in attendance. The matchups will be based on the most recent ACHA rankings, which will be released later this upcoming week.
