Warriors cruise past Wolf Pack on the ice

Published 2:33 pm Saturday, September 26, 2015

The Waldorf hockey team displayed plenty of firepower, opening Northern Collegiate Hockey League play with an 8-1 victory over Michigan Technological University on Friday at Albert Lea City Arena, according to a press release.

“Obviously, this was a good start to the conference season for us,” said Waldorf coach Brett Shelanski. “The most impressive thing to me was how consistent we were in staying with the kind of game that we are trying to play.”

Sophomore Jeffrey Bartel and freshman Ryan Veillet led the charge for the Warriors (3-2, 1-0) with two goals apiece. Freshmen Conor Luck and Jacob Bromen and seniors Jake Taylor and Christian Weber also got into the scoring mix.

Email newsletter signup

Bartel connected for the first goal of the night in the 12th minute of the opening period following an assist from junior Spencer Johnson.

Veillet scored the first goal of his collegiate career four minutes later. The forward from Langley, British Columbia, was assisted by junior Alex Fleming and freshman Rodney Engstrom.

Waldorf continued to deliver an offensive punch with two more goals in the second period. Luck scored in the 12th minute courtesy of an assist from sophomore Drew Soderberg. Bromen added his first career goal 56 seconds later while senior Travis Park and Luck provided assists to give the Warriors a commanding lead.

Bryan Reitter put the Wolf Pack (0-3, 0-3) on the scoreboard in the fifth minute of the final period. Kevin Belvitch and Stephen Comperchio contributed assists as Michigan State looked to make up for lost ground.

A flurry of four goals in less than a three-minute stretch helped Waldorf slam the door on the Wolf Pack.

Taylor scored in the sixth minute of the third period following assists from freshman Cameron Batchelor and Bromen. Fifty-three seconds later, it was Weber finding the back of the net as Johnson and sophomore Matthew Liggett dished out assists.

Veillet notched his second goal of the night, scoring 56 seconds later. Freshmen Robert Danyo was credited with the assist.

Bartel, a defender from Steinbach, Manitoba, tacked on the final goal with less than 11 minutes remaining in the contest. Soderberg and Park both turned in their second assists.

The Warriors were the aggressors from the drop of the puck, outshooting Michigan Tech 76-21. Waldorf sophomore goaltender Ronald Paulson closed out the game with 20 saves.

Bartel, Johnson, Luck, Park, Veilett, Soderberg and Bromen recorded two points apiece. With six different players collecting goals and 14 total players showing up in the points’ column for the Warriors, it was a concerted team effort and an extremely strong start to the NCHL season.

Waldorf looks to follow up its impressive performance at 2 p.m. Saturday in the series finale against the Wolf Pack.

“We had 14 different players register a point,” Shelanski said. “That kind of offensive balance is going to be important to our success this season.”