Hope hockey hits the ice

DANGLE, SNIPE, CELLY — #2 Garrett Gormley (’18) gets mauled by teammates in celebration after he scored the first goal of the season on Friday night. (Photo: Kelly Ocock)

Hope College hockey started their season on the right note this past weekend with two big wins over the University of Michigan. Both Hope and Michigan compete in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) and Division III of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Coach Chris Van Timmeren is entering his 17th season leading the Flying Dutchmen, looking to improve on an overall record of 355-104-17 during his tenure.

Friday’s game took place at The Edge ice arena in Holland. Garrett Gormley (’18) got the celebration started early in the first game of the season when he found the back of the net just 3:14 into the first period. Gormley’s goal was assisted by Evan Augustine (’19) and Skylar Miller (’20). However, that was all for Hope in the first. Michigan came back and scored twice late in the period to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room. Unfortunately for Michigan, Hope came out flying in the second and scored four goals in the period, including two from Augustine, one from Noah Arent (’20) and one from Ben Hoard (’17), to take a 5-3 lead into the second intermission. Hope didn’t let up in the third, scoring in two more goals to win the game 7-4. Gormley lead the Flying Dutchmen with 5 points (2G, 3A) followed closely by Augustine who had 3 points (2G, 1A).

On Saturday, the teams hopped on their respective busses and made the trip down to Ann Arbor for game two. Once again Hope found themselves down by one goal entering the first intermission. However, after this, they responded with four goals in the second period to seize control of the game. Second period goals were scored by Peter Stewart (’19), Jonah Omen (’20), Hoard and Gormley. Stewart added another goal for Hope in the third period to seal the victory in game two 5-3. Leading scorers in game two for Hope were Omen who had 3 points (1G, 2A) and Stewart who had 2 points (2G).

All in all, it was an impressive weekend for the Dutchmen. They dominated the pace of play often and found room to fire plenty of shots on goal, creating a ton of scoring chances. Look for Hope in the thick of things for the MCHC title as well as a national title once again. So go out and support your hockey team! Hope will look to continue their hot start next weekend with two games against Davenport University, where the team will be looking for victories. Friday’s game is once again home at The Edge ice arena at 7:00 p.m. Directions to The Edge can be found on the Hope Athletics website under Edge Ice Arena on the ACHA Hockey page.