ALBERT LEA – While the players of Waldorf University (1-8-2, 1-4 MCH) skated with their families and friends with music blaring in their “Skate with the Warriors” event, a somber and dejected group of Huskies quietly retreated back to their locker room. 

The Warriors’ post game festivities came after earning their first win of the season Friday – a 5-1 smashing of NIU Hockey (0-9-2, 0-5 MCH), who remain winless on the season. 

After the loss, a dejected head coach Brad Stoffers struggled to find words to say of his team’s performance. 

“Man, I don’t know,” Stoffers said. “Didn’t play hard enough to win, didn’t take care of the D zone – kind of played down to their level. Didn’t play our game, and that’s it. Beat ourselves again. 

ALL DOWNHILL

After tying the game 1-1 on a goal by junior defenseman Luke Marks early in the second period, the wheels fell off for NIU. Waldorf dominated possession, resulting in a 22-18 shot advantage and 3-1 lead by the end of the frame. 

Marks said breakdowns in defensive coverage aided in NIU’s collapse and helped Waldorf pull away. 

“We were chasing instead of winning battles,” Marks said. “We weren’t doing anything correct. We were just a step behind after they scored … we kind of just deflated.”

Both Waldorf goals in the second period came less than 10 minutes after Marks’ tally, resulting in a short-lived tie. 

Freshman forward Robbie Zimmerman described how the team’s focus needs to be on the next shift after scoring a goal to avoid a collapse. 

“They say in hockey that the most important shift is the one after you score a goal, and I think we need to hammer that down,” Zimmerman said. “I think we honestly get too comfortable or too up after we score. And then we let our guard down, and they get us back right away. So, we got to stop doing that.”

MAJOR POWER OUTAGE

NIU’s power play has been a major area of concern this season, having only scored twice through 11 games. 

Stoffers acknowledged the struggles of the power play after going another game without finding the net while a man up.

“When you have a man advantage, you got to take advantage of it, and we haven’t done that this year,” Stoffers said. “A little too much today not supporting a lot. A lot of times you’ll see one guy with the puck and four other guys just standing around hoping something happens. We don’t make things happen for ourselves.”

Zimmerman said finding success on the power play will have to come down to getting in the dirty areas for dirty goals. 

“It’s vital,” Zimmerman said of getting the power play going. “We just need to start getting more shoot heavy and get a little greasy and score goals and start burying because we are a snake-bitten power play unit right now.”

HOLE IN THE WARRIORS

The Huskies have another game with Waldorf looming Saturday, and Zimmerman said the team can exploit the Warriors’ aggressive playstyle to create more offense.

“We can take advantage of one guy coming in hard and laying the body,” Zimmerman said. “If we chip it by that guy and use that to get an odd-man rush, I think that we can capitalize on those opportunities and hopefully come out with a win tomorrow.”

NIU closes its two-game series with Waldorf at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Albert Lea City Arena in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

The game will be streamed on the Waldorf Warrior Network.