After an opening season split against Ferris State at home, the Raiders have now gone on what is a three-game road trip with one matchup in Rochester against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers and a two-game set against the Bowling Green Eagles this past weekend.

After getting a big 4-1 win against RIT, the Raiders were hoping to add to their win column as they travelled to Ohio to take on the Eagles. In their first matchup this past Friday night, the Raiders battled the Eagles to a tightly-played 1-1 draw. Senior goalie Eric Mihalik drew the start and made 38 big saves, including 15 stops in the second period to keep the Raiders in the game.

The first period got off to a slow start with both teams picking up early penalties and being unable to convert on these opportunities. Shortly after the Raiders’ power play concluded, the Eagles got on the board, as senior Bryce Williamson squeezed one past Mihalik for his first goal of the season.

The Raiders fought hard for the remainder of the period and headed into the first intermission down 1-0.

Early second period, the Raiders came out fighting hard, but the Eagles were persistent, offensively rattling shots on goal. Going the other way, first-year defensemen Jake Kulevich found junior forward John Lidgett, who hit senior Mike McCann for the Raiders’ first goal of the game and McCann’s second of the season.

With the game tied up at one, the Eagles and Raiders both came out firing. Both netminders, however, were brilliant in goal and held their teams in the game. The Raiders fought off two big power plays late in the period as juniors Spiro Goulakos and Lidgett picked up penalties.

In a closely-contested third period, both teams were eager to tally another and put their team ahead. Action went both ways on the ice, yet the goalies stood tall in the net and did not let anything past. The Raiders picked up a power play midway through the period but could not convert as sophomore Tylor Spink got his shot blocked and sophomore Kyle Baun hit the post. The game was still tied as time came to a close in the third period, so the teams headed to overtime.

Just 1:10 into overtime, Goulakos picked up a crucial boarding penalty and the Eagles had an opportunity to score. As Goulakos came out of the box, the Raiders made a push on the other end to tally the game-winner, but nothing was had and the game ended tied at 1.

After a tough defensive battle the previous night, the Raiders came out Saturday night hoping to pick up a victory this time. Unfortunately, a victory would not come as the Eagles rallied, putting seven goals past first-year goalie Charlie Finn in a 7-0 victory for the Eagles.

The Raiders held off the Eagles for a majority of the first period, as they fought off two penalties from Kulevich and junior Joe Wilson. With just 56 seconds remaining in the period, the Eagles tallied their first of the game.

The second period began and the Raiders, once again, could not remain out of the penalty box. Three Raiders penalties, including two from sophomore Tyson Spink, helped the Eagles tally three goals, one of which came on the power play. Prior to this game, the Raiders’ penalty kill had been strong and not allowed many power play goals, but the Eagles tallied two Saturday.

The third period was more of the same for the Raiders, as they once again could not stay out of the penalty box. Five Raiders penalties later, the Eagles had put three more goals on the board and the score was 7-0 as the final seconds ticked off

the clock.

After a defensive battle the previous night, the Raiders faced 50 shots, and Finn stopped 43 in a strong effort. The Raiders hope to rebound from their defensive lapse as they host St. Cloud State Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26 at

Starr Rink.

Contact Spencer Serling at [email protected].