The SDSU club hockey team emerged from their first series of the year as dominant as they could have, tallying up 18 goals in their two wins against the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, featuring an electric 13-goal shutout on Saturday. 

​A synergized offense and defense proved to be the driving force for their commanding wins with Nebraska struggling to gain an offensive footing. 

“We have lines that have played together not just in college, but in high school,” defenseman Wyatt Hanson said. “I think the connection between everyone is there for a great team effort,”

The Jackrabbit offense thrived off of the defense’s assertive effort, with the time of possession dominated by the Jacks in both games. Forwards played stifling defense, while defensemen provided tape-to-tape passes to jumpstart the offense. 

Game one featured the Cornhuskers’ lone goal, driven in by Marcus Richeter. Freshman starter Addison Ronning settled in following the lone goal and ended the game with eight saves. Veteran Trent Nelson tagged in late into the second period and faced only three shots, saving all of them. 

The lone goal was the one positive takeaway for the Huskers, with the Jacks quickly snapping back with a goal from freshman Zack Struck who ended the night off with two points and an assist. Austin Arnoldy and Max Kjelden played large roles in their win. The duo combined for three goals and Maxwell boasted two assists. 

“He plays a crucial role on both sides of the ice,” said Dominick Palumbo regarding Kjelden. 

Game two of the series followed largely the same story, with the Jacks continuing to be an authoritative force throughout the game on both sides of the ice. Nebraska’s offense couldn’t get anything going in the first period and their defense coughed up three goals.

The Jacks’ defense and offense were humming and played complimentary hockey. Technical superiority was complemented with physicality to provide a balanced style of play.

“I don’t think we play a very physical game, we like to move the puck around and out-play, rather than out-hit the other team. But we are not afraid to take or give hits. We have some tough people on the team who can play all around,” Hanson said. “I thought we played a good defensive game against Nebraska. Breakouts were smooth, but there are definitely some things we can improve on.”

The defense played the kind of game that provided an offense a plethora of opportunities to drive the puck home, with goalies Thomas Elliot and Trent Nelson only facing ten shots on goal. The few attempts were quickly blocked by the pair and subsequently driven to the offensive zone. The first period featured a goal apiece for Owen Schneider, Quintin Steindl and Zack Struck.

​The second period was a shooting range with seven goals scored by the Jacks. Struck started it off with an unassisted goal followed up with a snipe by Jayden Scheierl following the feed by Steindl and Hanson. Scheierl and Steindl quickened the tempo with a two-on-one goal quickly after the previous dime.

​Arnold and Steindl weren’t done with their big series, with Arnold shooting off another goal in less than 30 seconds after the previous one following Steindl’s pass. Kjelden and Ashton Witte ended the period strong with an unassisted goal each.

​The third period started with another Witte solo goal. Max Mohr got in on the action with his own goal assisted by Brody Powers. The game concluded with another Ashton Witte goal with Kjelden assisting. 

​The Jacks will look to keep the momentum against the MSU Moorhead Dragons this weekend at the Larson Ice Arena.