Monday, September 26, 2005

Golden Grizzlies sweep opening weekend


OU superstar Will McMahon
(Photo courtesy of Jim Selleck)

Two-time ACHA Division II Player of the Year Will McMahon started the season off with a bang collecting 10 points on five goals and five assists in two games this past weekend as Oakland defeated the University of Michigan, 7-2, on Friday and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, 7-5, on Saturday.

Friday's contest was all OU as the Grizzlies fired on all cylinders to take an early 3-0 lead after one period.

"I was very pleased to see the guys come out the way they did," said OU head coach Sean Hogan. "It showed we were ready for the season and the team was ready to play."

Several new faces appeared on the score sheet Friday as OU had two goals from Brandon Lipari and a goal each from NCAA transfer Brent Cooper and freshman Jeff Einhauser. Defenseman Scott Elder rounded out the scoring for the Grizzlies.

Saturday's game was a different story for the Grizzlies as OU came out flat and were down 5-2 in the second period.

"We were getting pushed around out there and getting beat to the puck for two periods," Hogan said. "The guys finally realized it was time to step it up. Wins like this build a team."

With just under ten seconds remaining in the second period OU got the break it needed with a goal from McMahon on a great feed from Cooper.

"Between periods I shook up the lines to see if we could get some more scoring and let the guys know that we can't let games like this slip away," stated Hogan.

The third period the Grizzlies did just that scoring four unanswered goals to take a 7-5 win back to the Onyx for next week's showdown with the St. Clair College Saints. McMahon ended the night with a hat trick and OU received two goals from Ronnie Teasdale and single goals from Lipari and Cooper.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I cant wait to see OU and Wayne State. I am very curious.

Anonymous said...

Oakland will be tough to beat for any ACHA team, but Wayne State and St. Clair are a different story.

Anonymous said...

Wayne State will win (and should, they are giving out scholorships! When OU is pay to play!), but I'm excited nonetheless. I'm guessing 6-0 Wayne State, which isn't that bad considering.

Anonymous said...

Oakland does look good. Four solid lines with good D and a couple of quick netminders. U-M Dearborn had them down 5-2 before a very timely come back by Oakland. I guessing St. Clair will be very close in talent to U-M and Oakland. St. Clair split with D1 Ohio University this past weekend and U-M Dearborn is usually right in the mix with Ohio.

Wayne State is diffinately another story. No chance for Oakland, but a fun experience for the guys anyway.