Eagles Sweep Montana Tech on the Road The Eastern Washington University Eagles Club Hockey team completed a two-game road sweep against Montana Tech…
Eagles Sweep Montana Tech on the Road
The Eastern Washington University Eagles Club Hockey team completed a two-game road sweep against Montana Tech over the weekend, earning a 5-3 victory on Friday before shutting out the Orediggers 4-0 on Saturday at the Butte Community Ice Center. The Eagles outscored Montana Tech 9-3 across the two games, extending their strong stretch of play.
Friday, Oct. 30 | EWU 5, Montana Tech 3
The Eagles opened the weekend with a 5-3 comeback victory over Montana Tech on Friday night.
Montana Tech struck first, scoring at 14:18 in the opening period to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Eastern responded quickly in the second period, as Ian Nelson tied the game just 12 seconds into the frame with an assist from Zach Baumann . Just over two minutes later, Eli Nickisch gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead at 2:29 with an assist from Robby Arver . Montana Tech answered with a power-play goal at 5:10 to even the score, but Caleb Shcherbina restored Eastern's lead at 16:42 with another assist from Baumann , sending the Eagles into the third period ahead 3-2.
Eastern extended its advantage early in the final period when E. Nickisch scored his second goal of the game at 5:15, assisted by Jared Jelinek and Arver . Montana Tech cut the deficit to one with a power-play goal at 18:35, but Shcherbina sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:53, assisted by Baumann and Nelson .
Shcherbina and E. Nickisch each finished with two goals, while Baumann recorded three assists. Eastern outshot Montana Tech 58-48, and Damian VanDanacker made 45 saves on 48 shots.
Saturday, Oct. 31 | EWU 4, Montana Tech 0
Eastern completed the weekend sweep Saturday with a dominant 4-0 shutout victory over Montana Tech.
The Eagles took control early, with Shcherbina opening the scoring at 6:08 of the first period with an assist from Karsen Kendall . Evan Fassbender added another goal at 17:32, assisted by Shcherbina and Keegan Clark , giving Eastern a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
The Eagles added to their lead late in the second period when Baumann converted a penalty shot at 19:49, extending the advantage to 3-0.
Eastern capped off the scoring in the third period as Clark found the back of the net at 13:54, assisted by Jelinek and Jordan Russell , securing the 4-0 victory.
Eastern outshot Montana Tech 44-28, while Nicholas Kaufman delivered a shutout performance, stopping all 28 shots faced.
The Eagles finished the weekend with a perfect 2-0 record, outscoring Montana Tech 9-3 and earning their second consecutive road sweep. Eastern will return to action Friday, Nov. 6, as they travel to face Gonzaga before hosting the Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the URC.