Byron Center, Mich. — Friday (Nov. 17) the Aquinas men's hockey team faced off against Cleary for a conference match up at Southside Ice Arena. The two teams were fairly even throughout the match, both in goals but also overall shots. In a last stitch effort Cleary pulled their goalie but AQ capitalized on an error and distanced themselves to a two goal lead. Aquinas took the match 5-3.

Aquinas found the back of the net first just over five minutes into the conference contest. The dynamic duo of Dylan Rumpke and Brandon Rozema were the first to strike. Cleary found their answer just about three minutes later, stealing the spotlight and placing the game at an even 1-1.

But Cleary didn't stop there and managed to pop another one in with just 1:49 remaining in the first period.

The Saints were down headed into the second but certainly were not out. AQ's Austin Gilmore served a hot fresh puck into the back of the net like it was looking for a late night snack. Gilmore was assisted by Ryan Kleber. 

Aquinas rode the waves of excitement and capitalized on a power play five minutes later. This time Christian Look would score, assisted by Brendan MacCatty, and Alex Johnson. This goal placed the Saints at a 3-2 advantage. But Cleary would not go down without a fight and tallied another score with 4:24 remaining in the second. Evening it back to 3-3. With all the energy in the arena, no team managed another score in the second.

The third period fired off with speed, both teams looking to go back home with a win. Due to fast play there were few face offs in the beginning of the period, leading to the clock to melt away from constant play. Gilmore was not satisfied with the idea of overtime and smacked in another score, this time assisted by Xavier Erickson, and Kirwin Johnson.

This second Gilmore goal gave Aquinas breathing room as the clock counted down. But Cleary was still pounding on the goalies door. In a last stitch effort to find the back of the net Cleary pulled their goalie. Their attack began but due to an error resulted in an early turnover. Erickson capitalized on the misplay and upped the score, 5-3 with just 1:16 remaining in regulation.

Overall Aquinas had 42 shots, and Cleary kept in stride with 45.

The Saints played the remainder of the match defensively, allowing the clock to run out. AQ claimed the victory 5-3, moving their season total to 7-11-0 (5-6-0 WHAC). The boys are back on the ice Saturday (Nov. 18) at Cleary with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop for their second match of the series.