Affton, Mo. – Maryville University club Hockey team faced off with Illinois State for the second game of a two-game series and pulled off a 5-2 win over the Redbirds. Following the dominant performance by the Saints on Friday evening, this match had a different feel to it from the start.
 
What Happened: 
After one period of play, the Saints found themselves trailing 1-0 to the Redbirds. Illinois State was able to score early on a slap shot from the middle of the ice from Michael Mcellin that snuck past the defenders and over the goal line. The Saints were having to play a bit more defensively in the first period, as they committed a few penalties in the defensive half.
 
The Saints came out to play in the second period and were able to get a lot more shots on net. It wasn't until 10 minutes into the period that one of those shots made it by the goaltender. Trevor Henson let a wrist shot go from just inside the blue line, which found the upper left-hand corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1. The period went back and forth between the Saints and the Redbirds until there was four minutes left in the period when Matt Simoncelli brought the puck up the ice, beat a defender and placed it right over the goalie's glove. Shortly after that, Illinois State answered with a goal of their own with two minutes remaining in the period to once again tie the game at 2-2
 
The third period was a lot more physical and aggressive from both teams. Jack Harrison came out and scored a pair of goals midway through the stanza to put the Saints up 4-2. Quickly following these two goals from Harrison, Joey Gagan added an insurance goal. It was a good 5-2 win for the Saints, battling through adversity and taking home two wins from the weekend over Illinois State.
 
Up Next:
The Maryville Saints next match is against Washington University on Feb. 1. The game will be played at Affton Ice Rink at 7:15 pm.