SAN ANTONIO – After a high-scoring 9-1 win the night before, UTSA hockey secured a flawless weekend by defeating the University of Houston 4-0 on Saturday at the Ice & Golf Center at Northwoods.
The puck on the cold ice of the rink was at the center stage of the face-off; as soon as the whistle was blown for the first period, players commenced in their pursuit of it. UTSA’s Thad Bielanski scored the first goal three minutes into the game. The remaining time was spent on saucer passes, UTSA battling with Houston’s defense and body checks on the boards. Throughout the first period, PhD student Joe Spracklen’s butterfly goaltending was a strong technique that did not let a single puck hit the net.
Spracklen, captain and goalie of the team, shared his expectations before the game.
“We know our team is gonna come out with a lot of passion, with a lot of hunger,” he said. “The guys are ready to go, we’re hoping for a big win.”
Two minutes into the second period, freshman defender Justin Trevino scored an insurance goal with a clear snapshot. Houston furiously glided through the ice in defense of their goalie, but ultimately failed to register a rebuttal score. Graduate forward Travis Sorce scored the third goal with 14 minutes left on the clock, and junior forward Jaylen Mendez scored the fourth and last goal of the night a minute later.
“I think today was more focused on not underestimating them after a big win,” head coach Zac Swank shared. “We still came out, we won four to nothing, so we listened to the game plan and stuck to details, so that’s where we found success.”
After the fourth goal hit the net, full-strength saucer passes and offside stoppages filled the remainder of the time. Mendez earned a visit to the penalty box for cross-checking, ultimately causing a 5-on-4 favoring Houston two minutes before the second period ended.
Tensions arose in the third period as sophomore forward Jackson Stubblefield was dragged to the penalty box three minutes into the game for holding the opponent’s stick, causing another power play on Houston’s side for two minutes. Spracklen repeatedly froze the puck with every shot on goal from Houston, earning MVP of the game for greatly aiding his team’s success.
With one minute left on the clock, sticks hit the floor as a fistfight broke out between Stubblefield and a Cougar defender, resulting in both players being ejected.
“I think I’m most proud of the team and our efforts to never give up honestly, and trying to keep our composure,” Mendez said. “I know we lose our heads sometimes, it’s just part of the game but I think next week we have to be ready as a team and just play smart hockey, and definitely learn from this weekend and keep the win streak going.”
“My mindset was just to stick to our game plan and play hard, which is to get pucks deep and be on the defensive side of the puck,” Trevino said. “We had a lot of players back from suspensions tonight but we were able to execute our game plan the way we wanted to.”
Next up, UTSA will play an away game against Rice University at 6:15 p.m Friday at the Bellerive Ice Center.
