WEST DUNDEE – The Huskies hockey team extended their season-opening losing streak to eight games, dropping their home-and-home weekend series to the Purdue University Northwest Pride.

The Huskies (0-8, 0-0 MCH) lost the games of the weekend series to the Pride (6-0, 0-0 GLCHL) by final scores of 6-0 on Friday and 8-2 on Saturday.

The Pride jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Friday with goals from freshman defenseman Patrick Hays and freshman center Charlie Smith. The Huskies had a few scoring chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Pride added two more tallies to take a 4-0 lead into the first intermission.

Penalties were the story of the night for the Huskies. Freshman forward Evan Rzeszutko got a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind at 13:54 of the first period. Seniors Randy Apter, Alec Porzondek, Rodahn Evans and Nick Gonzalez all took penalties in a two-minute span in the second period.

The Pride added one more goal to take a 5-0 lead into the final period

The Huskies couldn’t find offense in the third period and surrendered 11 power plays in the game. The Pride added one more goal in the third, giving them a 6-0 win and their fifth straight shutout.

The Huskies committed 13 penalties on Friday. Head coach Brad Stoffers voiced his frustration with the veteran players’ inability to stay out of the penalty box.

“Look in the mirror,” Stoffers said. “They need to grow up. It’s embarrassing. It’s really embarrassing. I’m sick of it. We need to be a more disciplined team. There’s no magic bullet. It’s just guys need to understand how to act. It’s pretty simple.”

Senior forward Hunter Wahl stressed the importance of playing five-on-five against a top opponent.

“When you have 20 penalties in a game and you’re not playing five-on-five ever, it’s gonna be hard to get that edge on any team,” Wahl said. “Staying out of the box and just playing smart tomorrow (Saturday) against a good team. We got to give ourselves a chance to win before we even consider winning.”

The Huskies struggled to generate speed, breaking out of their own zone on Friday. The Pride defenders stepped up on Huskie forwards and forced the puck back into the defensive zone. Wahl wants the team to keep things simple to limit those mistakes.

“I think everyone wants to be Superman when you’re down like that,” Wahl said. “When you play like that, mistakes are gonna happen.”

HAMMOND – The Huskies traveled to Hammond, IN for the second game of the home-and-home series on Saturday.

The Huskies started slow on Saturday, giving up the opening tally early in the first period. A shot by junior forward Craig Herman beat junior goaltender Matthew Capek, who made his first start of the season. Capek made 32 saves in his season debut.

Wahl ended the Pride’s shutout streak midway through the period when he redirected senior defenseman Colin Brey’s point-shot past Pride freshman goaltender Cooper Olson. The teams finished the opening 20 minutes knotted up at 1-1.

The Huskies jumped on the Pride early in the second period, moving the puck and putting pressure on Pride defenders.

8 minutes in, Evans dangled through multiple Pride defenders and ripped a shot past Olson to give the Huskies their first lead of the season. Evans detailed the moves he made on the goal.

“I just started going. D (defense) went down on one knee. Instead of taking the middle lane, he took the outside lane, so I just toey’d (toe-dragged) him, faked the goalie out and buried it.”

The lead only lasted 38 seconds. Pride freshman center Noah Murphy’s pass tipped off Evans’ skate and past Capek to even the score at 2-2. The Pride added four more goals after that, two from freshman center Andrew Remer. This helped the Pride to a 6-2 lead heading to the third period.

The Huskies didn’t find any goals in the third period. Pride freshman winger Michael Clough added a goal midway through the period, and Remer completed the hat-trick six minutes later to seal the 8-2 victory for the Pride.

After holding a 2-1 lead in the second period, two bounces led to Pride goals and killed the Huskies’ momentum. Stoffers wants his team to have a short memory and worry only about what they can control.

“We need to work on being resilient. Facing adversity and moving on,” Stoffers said. “Our bench, our energy, just drops and sinks and we lose momentum. Guys start focusing on things outside of their control, and it goes downhill from there. So, we’re trying to learn and understand. Find those moments and work past that.”

Despite the result, Stoffers commended his team for playing disciplined.

“Yesterday (Friday) we were undisciplined and thought that if we played five-on-five there, give ourselves a chance,” Stoffers said. “We had more power plays than they did. So, we were more disciplined and we did have a chance. We had a lead at one point, and it was a pretty back-and-forth game.”

Evans detailed the issues that cost the Huskies on Saturday but remains confident his team is close to turning the corner.

“Had a great half a game. Fantastic,” Evans said. “Two-to-one in the second and then we just lost our heads again and tumbled down the hill. A couple of bad bounces, one off my foot. A couple of missed saves and it just shot down the drain. We’re so close to having it together. So close.”

The Huskies have next weekend off, then begin conference play when the Midland University Warriors (0-4, 0-0 MCH) visit Canlan Ice Sports in West Dundee on Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.