Both the DII and DIII NAU Ice Jacks continued their win streaks in impressive fashions as the DII squad swept the Cal St. Fullerton (CSUF) Titans 10-2 and 14-2 and the DIII team beat the ASU's DIII squad 10-4.
On Friday night, the DII Ice Jacks went into the game with a 5-game win streak and it looked like in the first period they were going run away with the win. However, despite NAU controlling the pace of the game, they could only muster two goals in the first by James Terry and Dillon Butenhoff. CSUF's goalie Brandon Heethuis was very strong in net despite the barrage of shots he took.
In the second period, the Titans came roaring back. They took the advantage out of NAU's hands multiple times as the Ice Jacks were forced to play shorthanded on several occasions. CSUF scored twice in the second, one on a powerplay coupled with NAU's two goals to go into the third with the score only 4-2.
Even though CSUF started the third with a lot of confidence and momentum, they could not keep it going as the Ice Jacks scored six times in the third, four of those goals on the powerplay, to seal the 10-2 win and make it six straight.
On Saturday, the game started much closer. NAU opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal from Michael Isbell at the 15:49 mark. Despite that goal, CSUF continued to put the pressure on and beat NAU to the puck on multiple occasions to prevent an Ice Jacks offensive rush. The Titans tied the game later in the period and make it a game going into the second.
In the middle frame, the Ice Jacks started playing much better than they did in the first. They looked a little quicker and more physical as the Ice Jacks put home four goals to make it 5-1 going into the third. However, near the end of the period, defenseman Aaron Ghan was lost to an ankle injury when he fell awkwardly into the boards going to retrieve the puck. The injury may sideline him for several weeks.
With Ghan out of the lineup, NAU was forced to juggle their lines. This however, did not faze them as the Ice Jacks scored nine goals - three by Taylor Dustin for the hat-trick and two shorthanded - in the third opposed to CSUF's one. The Ice Jacks took the win 14-2 and extended their win streak to 7 games.
For the DIII Ice Jacks in a game labeled as "Midnight Madness", they extended their win streak to nine games as they took care of the ASU DIII team 10-4. Zach Duda recorded the hat-trick and Daryl Belanger and Ryan Smith each scored twice for NAU.
The DII Ice Jacks are home next Thursday as they play a big match-up vs. Colorado St. Then they travel down to Tempe, AZ as they take on Colorado next Saturday. Both of those games can heard live on KJACK Radio. The DIII Ice Jacks are on the road next weekend as they take on defending national champions College of the Canyons in a big conference showdown. They return home in two weeks, Nov. 18-19, for their last home games of the season as they play host to UC Davis. Those games can also be heard live on KJACK.
