Roosevelt Sweeps Past Oakland

ROCHESTER, Mich. – Strong third periods Friday and Saturday powered Roosevelt University's ACHA Division 1 men's hockey team to a road sweep of Oakland in Rochester, Mich.

ROOSEVELT 4, OAKLAND 3 – FRIDAY, JANUARY 27

The Lakers wasted no time jumping all over the Grizzlies in their home arena with two goals 30 seconds apart in the first three minutes of the game. Nathan Brown scored his first goal of the season just 2:12 into the contest with a power-play tally followed shortly by Danny Bdzoch's 19th goal of the season. Zach Demarce added a third goal for Roosevelt with about five minutes left in the period as the Lakers peppered the Oakland goal with 22 shots while limiting the Grizzlies to just four shots in the opening 20 minutes. 

Oakland nipped a goal back on the power play in the second period despite being outshot 20-2 in the middle stanza. The Grizzlies' comeback attempt was nearly completed by midway through the third with two more goals to tie the game in a fairly even period. However, Demarce scored his second of the game with 8:32 left in regulation to help the Lakers survive despite a 59-14 advantage in shots over the course of the 60 minutes. Brown picked up assists on both of Demarce's goals for a three-point night while Griffin Lehet and Gage McNeish added helpers on Bdzoch's goal in the first period.

ROOSEVELT 6, OAKLAND 4 – SATURDAY, JANUARY 28

Scoring was clearly not an issue for either team in the second game of the back-to-back, although the Lakers again dominated the shot column 51-23. Roosevelt took a 2-0 lead after the first period on goals from Zach Demarce and Frank Moore in the middle of the period. The Lakers doubled the lead to 4-0 inside the first 6:20 of the second period off goals from Danny Bdzoch and Moore. Bdzoch added a second goal in the middle of the second period after Oakland scored twice, but the Grizzles made it a two-goal game with a late tally in the second.

The Grizzlies put some pressure on the Lakers in the third period with an early goal to cut the deficit to one. Yet Cade Swygert added the much-needed insurance tally with less than eight minutes left to ensure Roosevelt would leave Michigan with a sweep. In addition to scoring two goals, Moore was one of three Lakers who had two assists in the game along with Timothy Laskowski and Tanner Hallett. Quinn Haller, Gage McNeish and Nick Priveta each added an assist of their own in the victory.

The Lakers return home this weekend for a pair of contests against the University of Illinois at The Edge Ice Arena. Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 6:50 p.m. and Saturday's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Fighting Illini.