Box Score
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Bethel Royals men's hockey team is off to a fast start in MIAC conference play as they finished their weekend sweep of the Saint John's Johnnies with 3-1 win. The Royals played solid defense all night long, and senior goalie
Aaron Damjanovich (Sr., Remer, Minn.) was brilliant between the pipes as he finished with 35 saves at the National Hockey Center.
The first period was a defensive struggle between the two teams, as neither team was able to find the back of the net. The Johnnies seemed to have the advantage and momentum in the period as they outshot the Royals 14-7 and controlled the faceoff circle with a 13-8 advantage, but Damjanovich stood tall and the Royals killed off both of their penalties to keep the score tied.
The scoring began just over halfway through the second period when the Royal's Josh Simi (Fr., Apple Valley, Minn.) lit the lamp with his first goal of the year with assists going to Lukas Jorgenson (Jr., Little Falls, Minn.) and
Steffen Hansen (Fr., Blaine, Minn.) The Johnnies were not about to go down quietly as Gabriel Harren answered back just four minutes later, tying the game at one apiece. Not to be outdone,
Kyle Dynan scored his second goal in as many nights in what turned out to be the game winner. Tom Menozzi (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) added his second assist of the year on the play. The Royals carried their 2-1 lead into the second intermission as Damjanovich held off the Johnnies to end the period.
The third period was a scoreless, defensive battle for 19 minutes until
Kyle Dynan assisted on a Christian Fogerty (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) empty net goal with exactly one minute remaining, giving Bethel two empty net goals in as many nights. The Royals hung on to the 3-1 win, and finished their sweep of the Johnnies.
With tonight's win, the Royals improve to 2-4 overall, and more importantly, to 2-0 in MIAC play. The Johnnies fall to 2-3-1 overall, and 0-2 in the conference. The Royals take their game on the road next Friday, Nov. 20, for a 7:05 game with the defending MIAC Playoff Champions, the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties.
