ST. LOUIS – The Maryville Men's ACHA Division I hockey team stayed perfect on the young season with a dominant weekend sweep over Illinois State.
FRIDAY: Maryville 4, Illinois State 1
The Saints opened the series with a 4–1 victory on Friday night, powered by timely scoring and sharp goaltending. Freshman defenseman
Vito Biondo netted the opening goal to set the tone, while
Lucas Adams,
Brett Ursulak added second period tallies to extend the lead. Sophomore
Maxwell Wagener chipped in the fourth goal to cap the night's scoring on the power play late in the third period. Between the pipes,
Parker Sawka was steady, turning aside several quality Redbird chances to lock down the win saving 15 of 16 shots faced.
SATURDAY: Maryville 8, Illinois State 1
On Saturday, the Saints' offense exploded in an 8–1 rout.
Logan Walker started off the scoring frenzy just 10 seconds into the contest, with
Sidney McNeill,
Will Smith, and
James Vermeersch each finding the back of the net to keep the momentum rolling into the second period. Defenseman
Brett Ursulak chipped in from the blue line with his 3rd goal of the season, showcasing Maryville's depth. Ethan Chensey, a junior transfer from Illinois State, netted two goals in the third period against his former team. Goaltender
Lucas Bain was solid in his second start of the season, making key saves only allowing one goal on 21 shots. The Saints pulled away in the third with six different goal scorers on the night.
UP NEXT
With the pair of wins, Maryville's M1 team improves to 5–0 to open the 2025–26 campaign—one of the best starts in program history. After this upcoming weekend off, the Saints will turn their focus to their first top-10 showdown of the year, hosting the Ohio Bobcats on Oct. 10-11 at the Maryville University Hockey Center.
