ST. LOUIS – Maryville University M1 Hockey kicked off the season with a pair of victories over McKendree University with a 7-1 win on Friday night followed by a 3-0 shutout on Saturday.
 
The Maryville University Hockey Center was filled to capacity on Friday with more than 1,000 fans in attendance to support the Saints in their home opener.  Timon Prexler brought a packed house to their feet, starting the scoring just four minutes into the game to give his team all the momentum early.
 
Maryville went on to win the game 7-1, outshooting the Bearcats 45 to 15 in total. Timon Prexler (2), Jack Harrison (2), Lucas Adams, Jake Chartier, and Lucas Adams were the goal scorers, while Johnny Massara recorded the win in net with 14 saves.
 
Saturday's game was much tighter than the season opener on Friday. The Saints outshot McKendree 50 to 14 and won the game 3-0 behind Ed Coffey's shutout in net. Goals were scored by Lucas Adams, Jack Harrison, and Will Smith to help the Saints start 2-0 in 2022.
 
"We have some very high expectations for our group this year," said Head Hockey Coach John Hogan. "While it can be human nature to come out a little softer after a high-energy Friday night home opener, I hope Saturday's game is a friendly reminder to our group that anyone can be competitive in our league on any given night. We have to be consistent in everything we do regardless of the crowd, opponent, and situation. I'm excited for our group to take the good from this weekend, build off Friday's game, learn from Saturday's performance, and be better for it moving forward."
 
The undefeated Saints turn their attention to the next game on the road against the first-ranked University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. at the Artic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond, Okla.