DeKALB – A night of history was shadowed by a dark cloud Saturday at Canlan Ice Sports, as the visiting Midland University Warriors (5-7, 5-4 MCH) used a 5-goal second period to earn a weekend-series sweep over NIU Hockey (0-12-2, 0-8 MCH) by a final score of 6-3. 

The second-period collapse catalyzed the Huskies’ 14th loss in a row. 

Associate coach Wayne Bower, who filled in for the absent head coach Brad Stoffers for the second night in a row, felt his team played strong for 40 minutes.

“I thought we played a great first period, and we played a really good third period,” Bower said. “Unfortunately, the second period counts.” 

HISTORY FOR EVANS

Late in the first period, graduate forward Rodahn Evans assisted on freshman forward Micah Maldonado’s power play goal, marking Evans’ 100th collegiate point – the first Division I NIU player to reach that milestone. 

Evans credited his teammates – past and present – for helping him reach the 100-point milestone. 

“It feels fantastic. I’ve worked and worked for four, five years – whatever it’s been,” Evans said. “I wish we had accomplished more as a team. It’s a self accomplishment. Then again, I would’ve never gotten 100 points if it wasn’t for my teammates like (NIU Hockey alumni) Hunter Wahl, Austin Walny, Gonzo (graduate student forward Nick Gonzalez), Porzo (fifth-year defenseman Alec Porzondek) – all the guys that have rolled with me since Day 1. Could’ve never done it without them.” 

Evans is the longest tenured player on NIU’s roster, which hasn’t seen much success in recent years. The program only has eight wins combined over the last two seasons. 

Bower said with the program’s struggles in mind, Evans’ milestone is even more impressive. 

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment any time you can do that,” Bower said. “He hasn’t played on teams that have been running up scores. So, he’s been doing it. Up until this year, the offense has kind of been run through him, so he’s had to carry the load.”

EPIC COLLAPSE

The Huskies started what was a disastrous second period strong, taking a 2-1 lead on a short-handed goal by sophomore forward Evan Rzeszutko. 

After Rzeszutko’s tally, the wheels quickly fell off for NIU. Five unanswered Midland goals in the remaining 19 minutes of the middle frame put the Huskies in a 6-2 hole after 40 minutes. 

“We started to be more concerned with the big hit,” Bower said. “As soon as we became more concerned with the hit than we were the puck and rubbing a guy out and scoring a goal, that’s when the game … went south.”

After the team got down a few goals in the second period, Maldonado echoed his coach’s analysis, saying the team started to focus less on offensive aspects. 

“We were focused on getting that hit – that extra two steps to make a major hit instead of going to the puck,” Maldonado said. “We were more motivated about hitting than we were getting the puck on net. We should’ve been better on that aspect of our play.”

Maldonado tallied his second goal of the game – fifth of the season – in the third period, but the Huskies never recovered and allowed Midland to escape with a 6-3 win. 

TIME TO REFLECT

NIU will enjoy an off-weekend next week then travel to Illinois State to take on the top-25 Redbirds in Bloomington. 

“We haven’t had an off-weekend at all since we’ve been starting,” Maldonado said. “I think it’s going to be really good for us to come together, maybe do a few team activities. As practice goes, we’re going to treat it as if we’re playing a game this weekend. Battle hard and continue to get better.”