Story by David Cassman and Ephraim Rodenbach
Featured Photo by Caitlyn Hajek
Additional Photos by Ephraim Rodenbach
MTSU club hockey (3-1-1) held its home opener over the weekend with a series against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (0-1-0).
In Friday night’s series opener, Middle Tennessee defeated UAB 27-2 at the Ford Ice Center.
MTSU invited musician MCD to be the guest of honor for the ceremonial puck drop.
Middle Tennessee scored their first goal within the first 20 seconds of the game, and they never looked back as they scored nine more times to make it a 10-1 game by the end of the first period.
The second period was more of the same for MTSU as they added nine more goals to their total.
“It kind of got out of hand in the first (period), but I told the boys to stick to the system,” MTSU head coach James Murray said. “Work on the defensive zone and the forecheck and just do all the small things so they’ll carry over into next week.”
In the third period, UAB’s goaltender, Jaden Hume, suffered an injury that forced him out of the game, and with no backup, UAB played the last 15 minutes of the contest with an empty net.
MTSU demonstrated good sportsmanship while working on their passing schemes as they attempted to burn the rest of the time off the clock.
The Blue Raiders won the game with a final score of 27-2 with 74 total shots on goal compared to the Blazers’ 15.
Despite the blowout, MTSU’s fanbase didn’t disappoint, as they had fans filing in up until the start of the game and with fans surrounding the rink for the entirety of the game.
“It was awesome to have so many fans here,” captain Linden Palmer said. “I feel like the fanbase is growing more every game each year.”
Middle Tennessee completed the sweep of UAB with a score of 18-1 on Saturday night.
The Blue Raiders picked up where they left off on Friday, with Donovan Yesnach notching his first goal moments after the first puck drop. After Yesnach’s goal, four different Blue Raiders, including freshman defenseman Jacob Schenk, buried the puck in the back of the net.
MTSU ended the first period leading 5-0 and outshot the Blazers 17 to 5.
Following the first break, the Blue Raiders scored six straight goals to take a commanding 11-0 lead over the Blazers until captain Joseph Hume pushed a snapshot past MTSU goalie Ethan Roy to cut into the MTSU lead.
With only a handful of minutes left in the second period, MTSU defenseman Jakob Placentia put home a rebound off Jaden Hume’s pad to increase the advantage to 12-1 in favor of the blue and white.
As both squads returned to the rink to begin the third period, the Blazers reentered without a goalie for the second night in a row. Jaden Hume was knocked out of the game once again after sustaining a concussion during play, Roy said.
Due to the lack of a goaltender, a forward from UAB’s roster filled the role and was subbed in early in the third period. MTSU took advantage of the empty net with sophomore Garon Hendricks’s long-range goal to increase the lead to 13-1.
In a final frame that included a slew of penalties for both sides, the Blue Raiders finished the game by scoring five more goals to make the final score 18-1.
Yesnach finished the game with six points, including four goals and two assists. Palmer reached 100 career points in the win, becoming the first player to reach the milestone in MTSU hockey history.
Next up between the blue lines, Middle Tennessee will take on the UCF Knights at the Ford Ice Center on October 11th. The game marks the first of a two-game homestand for the Blue Raiders.
David Cassman and Ephraim Rodenbach are contributing writers for MTSU Sidelines
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