On Friday, Oct. 23, Buccaneers men’s ice hockey played their second and final exhibition game in this year’s preseason schedule against the University of Dubuque Spartans on home ice at Woodman’s Sports & Convention Center in Janesville. The game marked a lower-pressure opportunity for first-year players to put up minutes and learn how to compete alongside their new team. Every freshman player took the ice at some point during the game; notably, goaltender Aaron Pichette’30 took over the net for the third period, and skaters Will McDonald’30 and Zach Lacasse’30 were on for the opening draw.
This matchup also saw senior alternate captain Sky Solig’27 taking on his former team, and man, are we lucky to have him at Beloit. Solig was all over this game, taking good shots on goal and playing aggressively throughout the whole 60 minutes. Other standout players during the game were captain Zach Hutchinson’28, Landon Adams’29, and JD Shoniker’29, who played with speed and grit on both ends of the ice. Goaltender Anthony Zolezzi’28 made several key saves throughout the first two periods, particularly shining during even-strength minutes of the game.
The Bucs struggled defensively, falling to the Spartans with a final score of 7-2. Beloit’s two goals both came in the midst of the second period as the Bucs tried to find an offensive groove. Unfortunately, those efforts were not quite enough for Beloit to find an edge in this matchup, as they ultimately did not lead at any point during the game.
The game was also rife with penalties on both sides. Unfortunately, the Bucs failed to capitalize on any of their three power plays, while five of the Spartans’ goals came on their own man advantage. Beloit’s penalty kill successfully handled two other Dubuque power plays, but the Bucs would definitely love to scale back on those penalty calls in early-season games. If you’re counting at home, that comes out to ten total penalties by both teams throughout the game.
Looking ahead to the regular season, Beloit will be looking to settle in even more defensively after losing last year’s starting goaltender in the offseason. This will likely give senior Mitch Taylor’27 a shot at the starting job with support from Pichette, Zolezzi, and Jude Ayling’28. This year’s roster also boasts a core of 12 remaining junior and senior players from the Northland College team, meaning the connections between those players can only continue to deepen and will likely be a benefit to the overall team culture throughout the season. The Bucs will also benefit from continued practice as they struggled with puck control and backchecking, two aspects of the game that will improve with time as they learn to read each other’s passes and build up speed and endurance in their skating.
Regardless of the final score, the game was energetic and entertaining to watch. It had a little bit of everything: lost and flying sticks, pushing and shoving, pucks over the glass into the crowd, two successful penalty kills, and the first sparks of life for Beloit’s offense this year. I, for one, am very excited to continue catching these games in person when the regular season begins.
The Dubuque Spartans were tough competitors, but luckily, the men’s team will not be facing them during the regular season this year. Beloit men’s hockey opens their regular season away at Lake Forest College on Nov. 3 before their home opener versus Milwaukee School of Engineering on Nov. 7. If you’re looking to attend Bucs hockey at the Woodman’s Center before then, look no further than the Beloit women’s team, who will challenge University of Dubuque in their home opener on Halloween night!
Featured image: Norah Owens’29
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