Rochester Hills, Mich. – The Aquinas men's hockey team continued its strong weekend performance with a second straight victory over Rochester Christian, earning a hard-fought 6–4 win in a physical matchup on Saturday night (Feb 7). The Saints combined balanced scoring, efficiency, and disciplined defensive play to secure the series sweep. Senior, Alex Johnson highlighted the night by recording his 100th point of his collegiate career, reaching the milestone with his lone goal of the contest and further cementing his role as a leader for Aquinas.
Aquinas 6, Rochester Christian 4
The Saints wasted little time setting the tone in the opening period, as Ben Cesario opened the scoring with a goal assisted by Oliver Plato. Just over three minutes later, Arseniy Malyutin and Easton Pratt set up Johnson, who buried his milestone goal to give AQ an early 2–0 advantage.
Aquinas continued to apply pressure, and Cesario struck again on the power play, finishing a feed from Plato and Cooper Nienhuis to push the Saints' lead to 3–0 heading into the first intermission.
Rochester Christian got on the board early in the second period, but Aquinas quickly answered. Evan Doan capitalized on another power-play opportunity with assists from Gavin Rozema, restoring the three-goal cushion. Moments later, Rozema found the back of the net himself off a pass from Xavier Erickson.
The Saints extended their lead even further when Braylen Outwater netted an unassisted shorthanded goal, making it 6–1. The Warriors responded with a late tally before the break, sending the teams into the third period with Aquinas holding a 6–2 advantage.
The physical play continued into the final frame, and a pair of late penalties gave Rochester Christian opportunities on the power play. The Warriors converted twice to close the gap, but the Saints remained composed down the stretch and protected their lead to secure the 6–4 victory.
Between the pipes, Simon Johnson stood tall under pressure, facing 27 shots on the night. Despite the high volume of opportunities, he maintained a solid .777 save percentage, making key stops throughout the game to help preserve the Saints' lead and secure the series sweep.
With the win, Aquinas completed the weekend sweep and continued to build momentum as the season winds down.
Coaches Comments
"Rochester responded well after yesterday's game." said Head Coach Brandon Rozema. I am very proud of our guys for killing off 5 on 3 penalties to secure the win. Evan Doan had some very big blocks on the PK. Very happy for Alex Johnson who tallied is 100th point of his Aquinas Career. Simon played well tonight to help us win. We look forward to playing our last game of the busy weekend against Davenport".
By the Numbers
Up Next
The Saints will have a quick turn around as they gear up to take on Davenports Sunday (Feb 7) at 2:00 p.m. at the Patterson Ice Arena.
