Zach Anderson

The Dordt men’s hockey team defeated SDSU 4-3 on Jan. 25. The Jackrabbits and Blades fought to a 3-3 tie at the end of the second period, but a third period goal by Dordt forward Todd Bakker sealed the win over the Jackrabbits.

The game was very aggressive; both teams combined for 30 total penalties along with many hard hits. “We kind of have a rivalry with Dordt, so the refs were trying to keep the game close, and that’s why there were a lot of penalties,” coach Nathan Bofenkamp said.

SDSU forward Kevin Heinen gave the Jacks a 1-0 lead with his goal off a Roy Sando pass at the 18:35 mark of the first period. Bakker answered back for Dordt off a pass from forward Brandon Breukelman at the 15:50 mark to put the score at 1-1.

Sando was ejected after receiving his fifth penalty about five minutes into the second period. “We have a couple of extra guys so they filled in pretty nicely,” Bofenkamp said. Sando scored his only goal of the game at the 17:48 mark in the second period to tie the score 2-2.

The Jacks took the lead with a goal from forward Tyler Vanliere with 3:39 remaining in the second period. With 1:05 remaining in the second period, Dordt answered back with a Bakker goal to take the game into the final period tied 3-3.

Seniors led the Jackrabbits as Heinen and Sando each scored one goal. Vanliere, a freshman, also tallied one goal for the Jackrabbits. Sando and fellow senior Chase Mowry each had one assist in the loss.

For Dordt, Bakker scored two goals, including the game winner. Forward Kevin Prins also chipped in two goals for the Blades. Breukelman, forward Joel Sikkema, defender Jacob Esselink, and defender Jonathan Van Keulen recorded one assist each.

Dordt nearly doubled SDSU’s shots on goal, tallying 37 shots compared to the Jackrabbits’ 19 shots. “We played pretty good. They out shot us by a lot, but we were able to keep the game pretty close,” Bofenkamp said. “Dordt’s got a good team this year. They got a few more goals than us, but we played pretty good being able to keep the score close.”

Up next for SDSU is University of South Dakota Feb.1 and Feb.2.